Drastic Measures
by RozaBelikova-x
Summary: What was supposed to be a fun afternoon for best friends Rose and Lissa turns into a nightmare when a couple of teenagers break into the Dragomir mansion. Soon it becomes clear that their only hope of escape lies with Dimitri, one of the strangers holding them hostage. AH.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello again! Welcome to my new short story "Drastic Measures". This one's kind of different from the others and it was just something I wanted to try out. I can't promise it'll be any good, but I really hope you'll like it! :D_

 _This story is a bit inspired by one of my favorite movies "Hostage" with Bruce Willis. I used to watch that movie a lot when I was young. I saw it again a couple of months ago and I found some of the characters really intruiging, like Mars. Anyway, that's how I found inspiration to write this story._

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy. It belongs to the wonderful Richelle Mead. _

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

 **DPOV**

There was a loud knock on the door before it slammed open and transported me back to the here and now. My best friend, Ivan, appeared in the doorway with a goofy grin on his face.

"Close that damn book and come with me," he said. "We're going to have some fun today."

"Hello to you, too," I said before reluctantly shutting my western novel. I'd have to finish the chapter later tonight.

"Your mom let me in," Ivan said. He was already halfway out of my room again. "Come on. Let's go."

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, grabbing my duster before following him down the stairs.

"Out," he replied.

"No way," I said dryly.

He turned around on the stairs and rolled his eyes at me. "You've been cooped up inside with your books for too long already, Dimka. It's time for you to get some fresh air."

I didn't reply. He might be right, but that didn't mean I had to admit it. Mama stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting.

"I'm going out for a bit," I told her.

She smiled. "I figured. Will you be home for dinner?"

I glanced over at Ivan, uncertain about his plans. "Am I going to be home for dinner, Ivan?"

"I'm afraid not," Ivan said. "Hope that's okay, Olena?" He flashed her a charming smile. "I'll deliver him back before curfew. Promise."

I cut Ivan a look, but he just shrugged at me.

"Alright," Mama acquiesced. "But don't stay out too late. It's a school night."

I nodded. "Of course, Mama."

"Have fun," she called after us. "And be careful. There might be coming a storm later tonight. If the weather changes, I want you home right away."

I'd seen the weather report this morning and they had said that it might storm tonight, but so far the weather looked okay. Maybe they were wrong. Even so, I promised Mama I'd come home if the weather changed.

We walked a few blocks in silence and I wondered where we were going, but I knew better than to ask. Ivan was up to something and he wasn't going to tell me anytime soon. But then an old blue pickup truck drove onto the street and I was instantly filled with dread.

"We're hanging out with _them_ again?" I said, stopping short.

He stopped as well and looked at me, that easy grin on his face again. "Yes. It'll be fun."

 _No, it won't._

I sighed heavily when the truck stopped next to us. Jesse rolled down the window and called, "Hop in!"

I gave Ivan an annoyed look before getting in the backseat with great reluctance as Ivan rounded the car to sit in the front. Tasha gave me a coy smile, which I returned with a frown before staring straight ahead. I didn't like Jesse, but I liked her even less. She was trouble. So was Jesse, but honestly, what could I say? He was Ivan's cousin – and he was older. Ivan looked up to him and, lately, he always wanted to hang out with Jesse.

But every time we did, something happened. If Jesse or Tasha didn't get into a fight with someone, they drank or smoked pot. It didn't matter what it was; for some reason they were always trying to get Ivan into trouble. And I got dragged into it _every time_. I guess that if they weren't going to look out for him, I should do it. Because he was my best friend and I didn't want him to get hurt. I needed to protect him. That's what I'd always done, since the start of our friendship, and that's what I would always do.

"Looking good, cowboy," Tasha said, flashing me a grin.

I didn't respond. Even though she was three years older than me, she kept flirting with me. It was annoying and it was another reason why I hated hanging out with her.

"Where are we going?" I asked stiffly.

"Just relax," Tasha said, sliding over to me. When she put her hand on my thigh, I looked up at her and slapped her hand away. She pouted. "Ouch. That hurts."

Jesse chuckled. "Tough love, Tash."

"It seems like you're in a mood," Tasha said. A slow smile crept onto her face. "I like it."

I scowled at her. "Stop it."

Tasha narrowed her icy blue eyes at me. I supposed she was trying to intimidate me, but it was hard to do so when she looked like a panda. All that heavy black makeup around her eyes didn't make her look appealing, and her personality wasn't helping matters. As if her makeup wasn't bad enough, she always dressed in black. No wonder she couldn't find a boyfriend her own age.

Ivan turned around in his seat. "Chill out, Dimka." He gave me a knowing look. "Today's supposed to be fun, remember?"

I clenched my jaw. "Right."

"I need you to stop at the store," Tasha said after a few moments. "I want something to drink."

Jesse chuckled. "Already? It's only four in the afternoon."

She shrugged. "Am I supposed to care about that?"

"Alright," Jesse said, smiling, "we'll stop at the store first."

The next five minutes passed in silence. Jesse drove to the supermarket and parked his car diagonally, taking up two spots. _Prick_ , I thought.

Suddenly, Jesse whistled. "Look at that."

I followed his gaze and noticed two girls leaving the store.

"They're hot." Then he rolled down his window and whistled again, loud enough for them to hear. The dark-haired girl spun around and looked our way. Jesse sat up straight in his seat and waved. "Did anyone ever tell you how nice your ass looks? Spin around for me again, love."

"What are you doing?" I hissed. "Leave them alone."

To my surprise, she walked over to us. The girl with the blond hair followed her quickly. Jesse looked very pleased with himself – that is, until she stopped at the car door.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" the girl exclaimed.

"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist. It was just a compliment," Jesse teased.

"Fuck you!" the girl said scowling. "Pervert."

I looked at the girl, stunned. I hadn't known what to expect when she came over, but I surely hadn't expected this. Even though she was raging mad, I had to admit she was really beautiful with her long, dark wavy hair and her big brown eyes and plump lips. I didn't know her and had never seen her around town. I knew I would've remembered her face if I had, though.

"And what the hell are you staring at?" she exclaimed, glaring at me now.

I was taken aback for a moment and averted my gaze, my cheeks reddening in embarrassment. I heard Ivan snigger, but didn't look at him.

"Rose," the other girl said, her voice quiet. "We should go. Andre's waiting."

I dared another peek at the girl named Rose. She was no longer looking at me; her attention was on her friend now. "Just trying to teach these pricks a lesson," she said. "They can't get away with this."

"You're really feisty," Jesse said, grinning now. "I like that."

"You're pathetic." Then Rose flipped him off and stalked away, her friend running after her.

I stared after her, still shocked, and watched her getting into a silver range rover.

"Oh my God," Ivan said laughing. "What the hell was that?"

"If anyone needs to be taught a lesson it's that girl," Jesse muttered, his mood darkening. "Ungrateful bitch."

"I don't think Dimitri feels the same way," Tasha commented, looking a little annoyed. "Maybe you should stop staring. Unless you want to be yelled at some more."

I blinked and looked away at last, my cheeks still burning. "You shouldn't have done that," I said sharply. "If you hadn't disrespected her this wouldn't have-"

Jesse turned in his seat to look at me. "What's this?" he interrupted. "You have a crush on this chick now or what?"

He said it in a joking manner, but Tasha looked even more annoyed – if that was possible – and she took out the lighter from her pocket and started playing with it, like she always did when she was angry.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said, clearing my throat. I glanced out the window again and saw the range rover pull away.

Tasha noticed too. "I know the blond-haired girl," she said suddenly. "Lissa Dragomir."

"And why should we care who she is?" Jesse said, sounding bored.

Tasha grinned. "Because she's filthy rich."

"How do you know that?" Ivan asked.

"She's dating my cousin," she answered. "Christian talks _a lot_ about her. He says she lives in a mansion. He also told me _where_ she lives."

"Now that's interesting," Jesse mused.

"I say, let's pay them back for disrespecting _you_ ," Tasha said, staring at the small flame she'd created. If she wasn't careful with that stupid lighter of hers, she was going to get burned. Not that I cared.

"What do you mean?" I asked, dreading what came next.

"I mean we should forget the liquor and pay them a visit instead."

"Why?" Ivan asked, oblivious.

"We're going to give them a little scare," Tasha answered casually, "and maybe steal some money in the process. I'm short on cash."

"No way," I said, clenching my fists. "We're not doing that."

"We can't," Ivan said nervously. "I mean…what about her parents?"

"I don't think they're home," Tasha said, leaning back in her seat. "Christian says they're always going on trips. For work or something." She paused. "That guy behind the wheel of that range rover? That's the brother. We don't need to worry about him."

" _No_ ," I repeated. "What the hell are you guys thinking? You can't do this. They'll call the cops."

"Jeez, Dimitri," Jesse exclaimed. "Can't you be chill for once? It's just a game. We'll give them a scare and if there happens to lie some money on the counter we'll grab that too." He smiled. "Maybe I'll steal that range rover. And if the parents are home, then we'll just leave. Whatever." He looked over at Tasha. "Does the girl know who you are?"

"No," Tasha answered.

"How can you be sure?" I said. "I mean, if Christian talks about her to you, then maybe he talks about you too."

"Trust me, he doesn't talk about me," she muttered. "He's too ashamed of me."

 _I wonder why._

"You don't want to do this, right?" I said, looking at Ivan.

He glanced from Jesse to me, uncertain.

"Ivan," I said. "This is crazy. We're going to get arrested."

"They don't even need to see us, if that makes you feel any better," Tasha said, rolling her eyes. "We're just going to mess with their heads, take some cash and head out. They won't know it was us."

"You're crazy," I hissed. I looked back at Ivan. "We're leaving, Ivan. Right now."

"Come on, Ivan," Jesse said. "You're seventeen. It's about time you stop being a boy and become a man."

Ivan glanced around the car nervously and then looked at his older cousin. "Promise me that they won't see us."

"Ugh," Jesse groaned. "You two are pussies. But sure, I _promise_ they won't see us. We'll be quiet and move around some stuff in the house so they know someone was there, but we'll be out before they realize it was us. That'll freak them out for sure, ha!"

"Hey, I want my cash," Tasha protested.

"Yeah, yeah," Jesse said, waving her away. "If it's lying around, we'll take it. Rich people are never careful with their money. And if we can't find anything, we'll just take some jewelry instead. How about that, Tash?"

"Sounds good to me," she said, a satisfied smile plastered across her face.

"Forget it," I said angrily. "I'm not doing this."

"That's fine," Jesse said, starting the car. "We need someone to stay in the car and keep watch."

I looked at Ivan, silently pleading with him not to do this, but Ivan turned back around in his seat and mumbled, "Okay, let's do it."

I contemplated on getting out of the car right this second, but I couldn't abandon Ivan with these two morons. They'd only get him arrested and I could not let that happen.

The drive to the mansion was filled with anticipation. The only thing I felt, though, was tension and if I was completely honest with myself even a little bit scared. I was sure that this wasn't the first time Jesse and Tasha had done something like this. How they'd managed to stay away from the cops was beyond my comprehension. _Maybe I should just report them when they go inside_ , a voice whispered inside my head. But then a louder voice took over, _What about Ivan? You can't sell him out. They'll arrest him._

The house was on the outskirts of town. There weren't a lot of houses here; just lots of trees and greenery. We drove past the mansion and when I saw it up close, I had to admit it looked large enough to be called a mansion. But if these people could afford a house like this, they could afford surveillance cameras as well. As a matter of fact, I noticed one at the gate, but when I pointed it out Jesse said he'd solve the problem.

Tasha told him to park the truck down the road. When they were about to get out, I stopped Ivan by putting my hand on his shoulder.

"It's not too late to back out," I told him.

Ivan glanced at Jesse and Tasha, who were already outside. "It's going to be okay, Dimka," he said. "We'll be in and out before you know it."

"There are probably dozens of cameras," I told him firmly. "You're gonna get caught."

"Jesse has a solution for that. It'll be fine."

I doubted Jesse's solution was anything good. "What if their parents are home?"

Ivan sighed. "They aren't. There's only one car in the driveway. The range rover."

"Don't be stupid. They could have parked their car in the garage. Don't you see how flawed their plan is? If you can even call it a plan."

"Stop trying to change my mind," Ivan said, irritated. "I'm going to do this."

"Why?" I asked, clenching my jaw. "Do you think Jesse's going to appreciate you more if you do? He's just using you."

Ivan reached for the door. "I'm going now. You should stay in the car."

"If you go with them, I won't be coming along anymore." Ivan stopped moving and looked back at me, surprised. "If you want to hang out with criminals, then fine. I can't stop you. But I'm not doing this again," I told him, determined.

I didn't know if I should've expected him to stay – I mean, I hoped he'd stay – but he just shrugged and got out, slamming the door shut. I cursed loudly as I watched him leave with his new friends until they disappeared around the corner.

"Fuck," I exclaimed, slamming my fist against the seat in front of me. I realized I had two options: either I ratted out my best friend to the cops or I waited until they came back. I reached for my phone and stared at it for a few moments, thinking. _I can't do it. I can't rat him out._ I cursed again, wishing I'd just stayed at home and finished my novel.

I decided to wait ten minutes, but those ten minutes turned into fifteen minutes and when twenty minutes had passed, they still weren't back. Anxious, I got out of the car and walked to the mansion. When I reached the gate, I saw that the surveillance camera was smashed. I hoped Jesse had at least pulled up his hood and hid his face when he'd done that. I looked around at the ground and found a stone in the grass. I guessed that's what Jesse had used.

The gate was still closed, but it wasn't all that hard to climb over it. I figured it served more as decoration than to keep thieves out of the house because a person could easily pull themselves over the gate or just jump over the shrubbery. I guess that's why they had installed a camera – to keep people from doing just that.

I paced in front of the gate, trying to figure out what to do. I could go back to the car and wait it out, but I had a feeling that there was something wrong. If that was the case, I needed to get Ivan out of here and go to the police.

So with a heavy sigh, I hoisted myself over the gate and dropped down on the other side. I didn't want any cameras catching my face so I stayed clear of the front door and quietly made my way to the back. Suddenly, I heard an alarm set off followed by a loud ear-piercing scream and I got this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that something had gone terribly wrong.

* * *

 _So...that was it for the first chapter. Please let me know if you liked it and if you want me to continue with this! Have a great day/evening! :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you very much for the reviews, follows and favorites! They're very much appreciated! :D_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **RPOV**

"Whoa, you look pissed off."

Andre smirked at me as I slammed the car door shut before settling into the backseat. I looked up and glared at him.

"She _is_ pissed off," Lissa said to her brother. "She just screamed at those guys over there."

"Did you see the way that creep was ogling us?" I exclaimed, already getting worked up again just thinking about it.

"I think he was only ogling you, Rose," Lissa said, hiding a smile. "He sure had a lot to say about your ass."

"It's not funny, Liss," I told her. "Women can't allow men to do that. Or else they're going to think they can get away with anything. We should stand up for ourselves."

"You're quite the feminist, Rosie," Andre said, chuckling. He looked at Lissa. "You got everything you need, Lissa?"

She nodded. Turning around in her seat, she looked at me. "Let it go, Rose. Don't let it ruin tonight."

I huffed. "Why would I let those assholes ruin our night? You know I'm better than that."

"Alright, I'm going to let you hold on to the nachos," Lissa said, handing me the bag. "Maybe the thought of food will calm you down."

"I _am_ calm!" I lied.

That made Andre laugh even louder. "So feisty."

"Don't say that word," I growled. "That's what the pervert said, too."

Andre shook his head, grinning, and started the car. I looked out the window and saw that the blue pickup truck was still in the parking lot. I wondered what that girl was doing with those guys. She probably had to listen to their rude comments all the time.

"Has your dad answered your text yet?" Lissa asked.

"No, but I'm sure it's okay if I stay over," I said with a shrug. "He's probably still on the plane. I'll call him later."

When we arrived at Lissa's house, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed her inside. We were going to do our homework first and then watch movies whilst dining on nachos. A perfect evening if you'd ask me – except for the homework of course.

"So when are your parents coming home?" I asked as I followed her upstairs to her room.

"Next week," she answered. "You can stay the weekend if you like."

"Cool," I said.

Just like my dad, her parents weren't home that often. They were two of the best-skilled archeologists in this state so they were barely at home. And my dad was the pilot who flew them out of the country from time to time. He was usually only a few days gone, unlike Lissa's parents. I wondered if he'd be able to fly home tonight, seeing as there was a storm coming.

"What about Christian?"

"He's going out with his friends on Saturday so I don't think I'll see him Sunday." I looked at her, confused, and she explained, "Christian's a lightweight. If he drinks two beers, he needs the next day to recover."

I laughed. "He is a little bit scrawny, yeah. Maybe if he gained some weight, he could drink a little more without getting hammered after two beers."

I hadn't met Christian yet, even though Lissa had been dating him for a couple of months now. Christian went to public school whereas Lissa and I were obliged to go to a private school, which meant our dating pool only consisted of snobby rich guys. But Lissa got lucky and met Christian through a mutual friend. I was happy that at least one of us had an exciting life.

"You know, Adrian's still interested," Lissa said teasingly.

Dropping my bag on the floor, I let out a groan before letting myself fall onto her bed. It was all fluffy and soft – much better than mine. "Ugh, no. You know I don't like him. He's the biggest snob of all."

"But he's nice," Lissa countered.

I snorted. "Only because he is your cousin. He _has_ to be nice to me."

Lissa sat down next to me on the bed and smiled down at me. "I think he really likes you."

"But I don't like him," I said flatly. "Sorry, Liss. I know he's your family, but he's just not my type."

"No, it's okay. I understand," she answered. "I hope he does, too."

I sighed. "We should probably start on our-"

I was interrupted by an ear-piercing sound. Moving my hands over my ears, I shouted, "Is that the alarm?"

"I think so," Lissa said, flinching at the noise. "I'm going to take a look downstairs."

I followed her out of the room. As soon as we reached the stairs, though, the annoying sound stopped, but I did hear voices downstairs.

"Did Andre invite people over?" I asked.

She shrugged. "He didn't say so."

She pushed open the kitchen door and stopped so suddenly I almost bumped into her. And then she screamed so loud I had to cover my ears again. But then my eyes fell on Andre, who was lying on the kitchen floor, rendered unconscious. He had a nasty cut on the side of his head and it was bleeding a little bit. Next to him lay a couple of shards and some flowers.

"Whoops. I didn't mean to hit him so hard." I looked up at the people standing over Andre and recognized them from earlier this afternoon. "Sorry about the vase," the girl said, smiling sweetly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I exclaimed in outrage as I rushed forward to check on Andre. I heard Lissa crying behind me. "How did you even get in?"

"I picked the lock on the back door," the girl said. "You'd think rich people have better security. The alarm worked, if that makes you feel any better." The girl kicked at Andre's leg. "This fella was kind enough to turn it off before I struck him with that expensive looking vase."

That prick from earlier stepped forward, frowning. "I don't remember this part of the plan."

The girl smiled coldly. "The plan's changed."

Slowly, she walked over to the kitchen island. I realized too late she was heading for the knife block. I tried to stop her, but the pervert blocked me.

"You stay right where you are, love," he said softly. The smile on his face creeped me out and I took a step back in disgust.

The girl pulled out the biggest knife and looked at it, that cold smile still on her face. "Stop crying, girl. He's not dead. Just unconscious." She glanced at Andre for a moment. "I think."

I looked at Lissa. Her face was wet with tears and she was cowering in the corner of the kitchen. "It's going to be okay, Liss."

"Oh, is it?" the girl said as she played with the knife.

"What the hell are you doing, Tasha?" the younger boy that was with them shouted. "You said we were just going to give them a scare. You said they wouldn't even see our faces!" He turned to the other guy. "You _promised_!"

"Promises don't mean anything," he responded calmly. "Didn't they teach you that in kindergarten?"

The girl looked annoyed. "Did you really have to say my name? God, you're stupid." She looked at the other guy. "I wish you hadn't brought him."

"He needs to learn."

I studied them, trying to figure out who was in charge here. It certainly wasn't the young boy. I thought it might be this Tasha girl, but I could be wrong. It might as well be the pervert. But…where was the third guy? There was a third guy in the car earlier.

"What do you want?" I demanded. "Money?"

"Yes, we do need some money," the guy answered. "But I don't think we can leave just yet. Not when you've seen our faces and heard our names."

"We've only heard her name," I said, nodding at Tasha. "How about we make a deal? You leave right now and we won't report you to the police. We'll forget all about it."

The younger boy looked happy enough with that plan, but Tasha only laughed. "Ha! You think we're stupid, don't you?"

"No, I just-"

I cut myself off when the third guy barged into the house, slamming the door open and setting off the alarm again. Tasha motioned with the knife at Lissa.

"Turn that off, will you?" she said, pushing Lissa towards the alarm.

Lissa whimpered and looked at me. I gave her a small nod. I thought it was better to just do what they wanted – for now.

"I thought we told you to stay in the car!" the older guy exclaimed.

The new guy was glaring at the older one. Even though he looked to be younger, he stood taller and looked pretty intimidating. And, though I hated to admit it seeing as we were in the middle of a crisis, he looked pretty damn hot. I hadn't noticed when I had been yelling at him, back in the parking lot, but I certainly noticed it now. Even though he was wearing a duster, I could see he was lean and chiseled. I could see the abs right through his shirt so I could only imagine how much he worked out. It'd be a pain in the ass to eliminate that one. If it ever came to that.

And that face! Strong jaw. Straight nose. Dark eyes. Chocolate brown shoulder-length hair. He was very good-looking. _What the hell are you thinking, Rose? This guy is robbing your friend and you're mooning over his pretty face?! Snap out of it!_ I blinked and looked away from the guy. Now who was staring blatantly?

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jesse?" the hot guy shouted, furious. He had a faint accent. It sounded Eastern European. He looked down at Andre, then back up at Jesse. "What did you do to him?"

Jesse grinned. "I did nothing. That was all Tasha. Apparently she had other plans."

The other boy stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Dimitri. I'm sorry," he said, clearly in a panic. I almost felt bad for him. _Almost._ "I had no idea they were going to do this. I thought-"

"Will you stop using everyone's name, for the love of God!" Tasha exclaimed angrily, pointing the knife in his direction. " _Ivan_."

"I warned you," Dimitri said, looking at Ivan. "I warned you and you didn't listen."

Ivan looked like he was going to have a meltdown. "I'm sorry."

"It's too late for that now, mate," Jesse said, slinging his arm around Ivan's shoulders. "So stop whining and suck it up, you big baby."

"Leave him alone," Dimitri growled.

"Hey, it's about damn time you calm down!" Jesse exclaimed, taking a threatening step towards him.

While they quarreled, I looked over at Lissa. Lissa met my gaze, her eyes full of terror, as Tasha held her in a firm grip. I wanted to tell her it was going to be okay, that I was going to get us out of this mess, but how could I do that when I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on in the first place? If this was a robbery, it was badly executed.

My eyes snapped back to the two guys when Jesse gave Dimitri a shove. Dimitri didn't budge, however. All he said was, his voice calm and clear, "I'm taking these girls out of here. And you can't stop me."

Now, I did like the sound of that, but I had a feeling that the others weren't going to let us go so easily. I knelt down beside Andre, which alerted the girl with the knife immediately.

"What are you doing?" she screeched, letting go of Lissa. It gave Liss the opportunity to run across the kitchen, but Jesse caught her by the arm before she could get any further.

"I just want to check on my friend!" I said, holding up my hands in surrender. Slowly, I got back up. Then I turned to Dimitri and Jesse. "Let go of her!" When Jesse didn't do that, I asked, "Why are you here? If you need money, you can take it." I looked at Lissa for reassurance and she nodded quickly, silent tears streaming down her face. "You can take whatever there is. Just let us go." I looked back down at Andre, who was still unconscious. "We need to get him to the hospital."

"You're not going anywhere," Jesse said firmly. "Not until I say so."

"Are you insane?" Dimitri hissed. "You're only making this worse."

"I agree with him," I said, crossing my arms. I had no idea why this guy was turning his back on his friends, but I might as well use this opportunity to get us out of here. "You're only making it worse if you keep us locked in here. What's the point? Unless you plan to murder us."

"Don't give us any ideas," Tasha said, a slow grin crossing her face.

"What the fuck?" Ivan exclaimed, grabbing at his hair. He looked at Dimitri, aghast. "What is she saying? I don't want to go to jail, Dimka."

"You're not going to jail," Dimitri said. He looked rather determined, even though he found himself in a precarious situation. "I'll make sure of it. Just…calm down, Ivan." Balling his hands into fists, he stared the older guy down. "Let the girl go. Now." When Jesse didn't comply, he added, "Do you want to go to prison? Then let them go!"

Jesse clenched his jaw and I was sure he wasn't going to budge, but then, surprisingly, he let go of Lissa. I sighed in relief and when Dimitri motioned for me to get to the door, I started moving as well. But then Tasha grabbed me and put the knife she was holding to my throat.

"Rose!" Lissa cried, reaching out for me.

"It's okay, Liss!" I said, trying to keep my voice steady. I didn't want them to know that I was afraid, even though I felt the blade pressing into my skin. "It's okay."

"What the hell are you doing?" Dimitri said angrily. When he took a step forward, Tasha yanked me backwards. For a moment I thought I was going to get cut, but thankfully she had a steady hand. "Let her go!"

"No one is leaving this house," Tasha shouted. " _No one._ Do you hear me?"

Jesse chuckled. "Well, you heard the boss. No one's leaving. Step away from that door, girl."

"Jesse, please don't," Ivan pleaded. "Please don't do this."

"God, will you stop whining?" Jesse said, rolling his eyes. "I'm already regretting taking you with us."

"Alright, do I have everyone's attention now?" Tasha shouted. I winced when the knife cut a little into my throat. Maybe her hand wasn't so steady after all. "I'm going to need you two babies to work with us. If you don't, I'm going to start cutting up this girl. And we don't want that to happen, do we now, Dimitri?"

Dimitri said nothing. I was hoping he'd try and intimidate Tasha like he'd done with Jesse earlier, but no…still nothing.

"Are you with us?" Tasha asked. "Or are you against us?"

"Fine," Dimitri said at last. "I'll do whatever you want me to. Just don't hurt her."

Tasha looked at Ivan. "And you?"

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You can help me search the house," Jesse said, clapping his back. "Who knows what we'll find. And we should probably get this guy out of sight," he added, kicking at Andre's leg again.

Ivan looked over at Dimitri, unsure, but Dimitri just nodded. They lifted Andre and carried him off.

"Where are you taking him?" I demanded, not caring that Tasha still held a knife against my throat.

"Somewhere safe, sweetie," Tasha responded. "No need to worry." And then, suddenly, she released me and pushed me into Dimitri's arms. "Bring them upstairs and tie them up. Look out for that one, though," she added with an nod at me. "She's feisty. You think you can handle it?"

"Of course," Dimitri said brusquely.

"And get me their phones. We don't want them contacting the police."

"Why are you doing this?" Lissa sobbed. "We haven't done anything wrong. Just take the money in my dad's office and leave. _Please_."

"Thanks for the tip," Tasha said. "It'll be the first place we'll look. I hope you're going to cooperate as well when I question you later."

Dimitri started to lead me to the door, his touch gentle. "Come on."

"Oh, and Lissa?" Tasha said smiling.

My heart nearly stopped. How did she know Lissa's name? But then I realized I'd called out her name several times in the past half hour. That's how she knew. "About what you said…that you haven't done anything wrong? That's what filthy rich people always say. They always think they deserve more than the common folk." She started playing with her knife again. "It's about time you get what you really deserve."

The way she said that last part made my heart hammer in my chest. I really didn't like the sound of that, but there was nothing I could do right now. If I ran, they'd catch me before I set foot outside. And what about my best friend? And Andre?

No, I needed to come up with a good plan if we wanted to escape these psychos. And it needed to be a plan where _all_ of us came out of it in one piece.

* * *

 _So Tasha changed the plans, but it seems like she's going a little bit crazy! I hope you liked Rose's point of view. Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter! Have a wonderful day/evening! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites and follows! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3**

 **DPOV**

I escorted the girls upstairs, holding on to each of their arms so they wouldn't try to run off. At least, I hoped they wouldn't because I had no idea what Tasha would do if they did attempt to escape. What I did know now, however, was that there was something really, really wrong with Tasha and that I had to be careful around her.

I wondered what the hell had happened inside this house while I sat waiting in the car. Did they get caught right away and was that the reason they knocked out the brother? My instincts told me there was more to it, though, because Tasha was acting like a real crazy person. She'd always been crazy, but I'd never seen her like this before. Honestly, her behavior was scaring me, which was why I decided to play along for now. Until I figured out a way to help these girls – and my best friend.

I asked the blond-haired girl named Lissa where her room was and then directed them towards it. It vaguely registered how huge this house really was. There were so many doors; it would be easy to get lost in here if you didn't know your way around. I should remember that for later. When we reached Lissa's room, I told them to go inside. Lissa was scared out of her mind, but Rose gave me a defiant look and crossed her arms.

"I'm going to need you to sit down on the bed," I told them, hating myself for doing this. "Back to back. But hand me your phones first." Lissa complied with shaking hands. Rose didn't move, however. "Please," I added.

Rose glanced briefly at something and when I followed her gaze I saw a backpack tucked away in the corner of the room. "I don't have my phone with me," she said icily. "I forgot it at home."

"You and I both know that's not true," I said, suppressing a sigh. "It's in your backpack, isn't it?"

Rose looked at me stubbornly, but said nothing.

This time I did sigh. "Alright, go sit on the bed."

They sat back to back in the middle of the bed. Reluctantly, I pulled out the duct tape and asked Lissa to hold out her hands. It bugged me that Tasha already had this on her when she'd ordered me to tie them up. Why would she have needed duct tape if she'd only meant to scare them a little and then get out of there with some cash? _They don't even need to see us, if that makes you feel any better…_ That's what she'd said in the truck, when she was trying to convince us to go along with her ridiculous idea. Unless…she'd been up to something else all along.

"That's a little tight," Rose said, snapping me out of my reverie.

I'd bound her hands and feet together with the duct tape and then proceeded to wrap the tape around their waists, holding them together. I thought it was too cruel and painful to bind their hands behind their back, but I guess this was cruel too. I really shouldn't be doing this. This was not how I'd imagined my afternoon out with Ivan.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. I could barely look them in the eye, I felt so ashamed.

Rose scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one tied up. Are you going to gag us as well?"

Quietly, I headed towards the door. I glanced around the hallway, but Tasha was nowhere in sight. Neither was Jesse. Gently, I closed the door behind me and walked back to the girls.

"I don't know how long she'll be so I'm going to say this quickly," I said, fixing my gaze on Rose. There was a small cut on her throat from the knife Tasha had threatened her with. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm asking you to trust me anyway."

"Why should we trust you?" Rose growled. "You're one of them!"

"No, I don't want any part in this," I said firmly. "So I'm getting you out of here. One way or another. I just need to come up with a plan. Until then…I have to do what she says. And you, too." I could see she didn't believe a word I was saying. "Look, I tried to stop them and I wanted to leave, but my friend…" I sighed. "I couldn't leave him behind. I couldn't leave him with them."

"You mean that boy who was freaking out?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. I warned him, but he wouldn't listen. And now…" I shook my head. "Now I have to make things right."

"While it's sweet that you want to protect your bestie and all," Rose said, "we're still tied up and helpless. What if that crazy bitch comes in and decides she wants to chop us into little pieces?" Lissa whimpered at that. "We can't defend ourselves like this."

I admired her for her bravery, but she didn't realize how dangerous Tasha and Jesse were. I mean, I hadn't realized how dangerous they really were until half an hour ago and now they were trying to drag my best friend down with them.

"I'm going to find a way to get you out of here," I vowed. "Alive and well. But I need to get my friend out as well. I'll figure something out, I promise." I took a few steps back and reached for the backpack. "But in the meantime I need Tasha to believe I'm on her side so I'm going to take your phone now and give it to her. I'm sorry."

Rose was about to respond when the door slammed open and Tasha entered. She looked around the room and when she saw the girls tied up on the bed, she smiled, seeming satisfied.

"Did you retrieve their phones?" she asked.

"Yes," I responded, handing them over.

"Great. Now give me yours too."

"W-what?"

Tasha gave me a look filled with pity. "Oh, honey. You didn't think I trusted you because you agreed to cooperate, right?" She patted my cheek and I refrained from recoiling. "No, no. I know you, Dimitri. You'd rat us out as soon as you'd get the chance so give me your damn phone. I don't want you making any secret calls to the police so you can please your pretty little lady over there."

I felt Rose's stare on me, but I ignored her and handed Tasha my phone. Glaring at her, I snapped, "Are you happy now?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'd be much happier if you looked at me the same way you look at that girl, but I guess we can't have it all, can we?" She flashed me a grin as she pocketed my phone. "It's a shame, though, because I liked you."

 _No kidding._

Suddenly, she pulled out the kitchen knife again and pointed at me. "But don't think I won't cut up your pretty face if you betray me."

"You're insane!" Rose shouted, struggling against the duct tape.

"You might want to shut her up," Tasha said, looking annoyed. "I need to talk to her friend and I don't want her interrupting all the time."

I tore off a small piece of the duct tape and put it over Rose's mouth, giving her an apologetic look as I did it. She just glowered at me.

Tasha sat down on the bed, facing Lissa. "So…Jesse's been looking for the money, but so far he hasn't gotten lucky yet. Where is it?"

Lissa's bottom lip quivered. "What did you do with Andre?"

Tasha smiled coldly. Slowly, she leaned forward and trailed the edge of the knife down her arm. I balled my hands into fists and stepped forward, wanting to stop her, even though I knew she was only trying to scare the girl. And she was succeeding. Lissa started crying softly and that made Rose struggle again.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Tasha said quietly. "Yet."

I wanted to pull Tasha away from them, but she was still holding on to that knife. Someone was going to get hurt and those girls couldn't protect themselves when their hands and feet were bound together. I couldn't risk it. Even if I did manage to disarm Tasha, there was still Jesse. He'd get up here if he thought something was wrong and I wasn't sure I could take both of them at the same time.

And then there was Ivan. I didn't know if he was going to help me. He seemed so afraid earlier and lately all he seemed to care about was Jesse's approval. I needed to get Ivan alone before I could think up a plan.

"Is there a vault?" Tasha asked. "I know you're fucking rich so you've got to keep some of it here!"

"When you get the information you want, you're just going to kill us," Lissa said bravely. "So why would I tell you?"

"Well, I guess you're going to have to trust me not to kill you," Tasha said with a shrug. "I mean, what else is there left for you to do?"

Rose snorted, which earned her a slap in the face. The blow must've stung, but she didn't show it. She really was a brave girl…or just plain stupid. She must know by now that if she angered Tasha she was going to get hurt. But it seemed like she didn't care.

"Fine," Tasha said when Lissa stayed quiet. "Then I guess I'll have to hurt your brother some more. Not that he'll notice. He's still out cold."

"Don't hurt him," Lissa cried out as Tasha started to get up. "There is no vault, okay? My parents aren't _that_ rich, but Dad does have some money tucked away here. And I already told you that he keeps it in his office! That's the only place he keeps his money, I swear."

"Alright, alright, just making sure you were telling the truth," Tasha said, smiling now. "Because if there was another hiding place you would tell me right?"

Lissa closed her eyes, sighing. "There's no other hiding place."

"There's another problem. The office you're speaking of…we can't get into it because it's locked," Tasha said, not surprised at all. "Figures."

"He always locks it," Lissa answered.

"Well, where are the keys?"

Lissa hesitated. "I can show you."

Tasha's eyes were blazing with anger. "No. Do you think I'm stupid?"

When Lissa told her where she could find the keys, she made me put duct tape over her mouth as well. I chanced another look at Rose before I closed the door behind me, but she only glared at me. I bet that if her hands were free she'd flip me off as well. I really wasn't winning her trust by putting duct tape over friend's mouth.

When I followed Tasha into the very spacious living room, everything was a mess. Jesse and Ivan had gone through everything, but had found nothing there. The TV was on, and some news reporter was talking about the storm that might come over this town later tonight. It had already ravaged through most of the state, but so far it had spared our town.

"Ivan, you can look upstairs for the jewelry," Tasha ordered as she dumped the phones onto the floor. Before I could react, she stepped on the phones and crushed them with her foot. While she did that, she looked at me and smiled. I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling the last of my hope evaporate. I'd needed that phone to call 911. "Leave the girls alone," she added when Ivan started to leave.

"What are you waiting for?" I exclaimed, turning back to Tasha. "Go get the money so we can leave! Her parents will be home soon! What are you going to do then? Tie them up as well?"

"They aren't coming home anytime soon," Tasha said decisively. She sounded so determined, as if she _knew_. "We've got this place to ourselves…for now. Jesse, make sure all the doors are locked. And then we're going to check out Eric Dragomir's office."

Once again I got this strange feeling that this was what she'd planned all along. The duct tape she'd brought, us meeting those girls in the parking lot of that store and she seemed so sure that the parents weren't coming home soon.

It wasn't a coincidence, I realized. She'd orchestrated the whole thing. It had never been Tasha's intention to just 'give them a scare and grab some money on the way out'. Knocking out the brother hadn't been an accident. She'd planned to break in here and steal money because she'd known they were rich. She knew that because her cousin Christian was dating Lissa. That's also how she knew their parents wouldn't be coming home.

And she'd used us to help her. She'd made us accomplices. But…what about Jesse? I knew she was close to him; they were always hanging out together. Had he known all along? Probably. Because he'd had to convince Ivan to come along. Tasha wouldn't have been enough to convince him, but Jesse… Ivan looked up to him and did whatever he bid. No questions asked.

 _And look what it got him now_ , I thought bitterly. If Ivan would've just listened to me, we could've gone to the cops right away and those girls could've been rescued before something bad happened. Now we could only hope that those girls wouldn't burn the two of us along with Tasha and Jesse as soon as I got them out of here.

But how was I going to get them out of here? I couldn't even call for help. She'd crushed all of our phones – except hers – and I didn't see a landline anywhere. I guessed she'd already taken care of that as well. I wasn't that desperate yet that I'd grab myself a knife as well and fight my way out of here. No matter how bad Tasha or Jesse were, I didn't want to hurt them if it wasn't necessary. I needed Ivan on my side, though, if I wanted to stand a chance against Tasha and Jesse.

"Where is Andre?" I asked.

"We locked him up in the basement," Tasha answered. "I don't think he'll bother us anytime soon."

"What are you planning to do with them? Once you get what you want."

Tasha mulled that over. "I don't know yet. I haven't exactly thought that trough, but I'll tell you as soon as I know."

 _She really is crazy._

Suddenly, I heard Jesse calling out, "The office is open, Tasha!"

I quickly followed her to the office, where Jesse was rummaging through drawers. I looked around and saw several screens embedded in the wall. One screen gave us a view of the driveway, another screen was black. That one had probably been filming at the gate.

Earlier I'd hoped Jesse – or Tasha, I didn't know who'd done it – had pulled up his hood when they destroyed the camera, but now I kind of hoped that the camera had caught their faces full-on. If – no, _when_ – the police got here and watched the tapes, at least it would be clear that Jesse and Tasha were the real culprits.

Tasha turned towards the monitor and, after a few moments of fumbling, she managed to switch off the remaining cameras. All the screens went black.

Suddenly, Jesse exclaimed, "Sweet!" and pulled out a gun, hidden in the top drawer of the desk.

I suddenly felt very lightheaded and leaned against the doorframe. A gun was the last thing I needed right now. It only made Jesse and Tasha more dangerous. After more rummaging through cabinets, Jesse pulled out a duffel bag and zipped it open. It was filled with Benjamins. Tasha's eyes gleamed as she looked at the money. Plucking out one of the one-hundred-bills, she stared at it and smiled.

"Very sweet indeed."

* * *

 _Uh oh, it looks like Dimitri needs to come up with a plan, asap! Do you think Ivan will help him? What about Rose? What do you think of Tasha? Is Dimitri right about her and did she plan it all along? I hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you very much for the reviews! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer: **I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4**

 **DPOV**

Because Tasha and Jesse were distracted for a moment, giddy with happiness now that they'd found the cash, I saw an opportunity to talk to Ivan in private. Quietly, I retreated back into the hallway and went upstairs to find Ivan. I tried a few doors and finally found him in the master bedroom, frantically searching for jewelry. When I walked inside, he looked up, startled. Then he sighed in relief.

"Dimka!"

"Keep your voice down," I told him. "I don't want them to hear us. They found the money, but I don't think they'll be distracted for long."

Once they'd counted every dollar bill, they're attention would go right back to us and their hostages.

"I'm so sorry," he started, looking at me pleadingly. "I didn't know… If I had – I would have never – I wouldn't – I didn't think they'd go this far. I – I tried to stop Tasha when she hit that guy, but I... I was too late." He hung his head, ashamed. "I should've listened to you."

"Yes, you should have," I said sternly, "but it's too late for that now. All we can do now is make sure that these girls come out of this unharmed. But I'm going to need your help doing that."

"There's nothing we can do," Ivan returned. "Tasha destroyed our phones! And she's constantly playing with that knife. And I really think Jesse's on her side. Do you know that he's emptied the kitchen? Like, took every sharp object away and threw it down in the basement with that kid!"

Shit. Now I was never going to find a weapon to defend myself and the girls if need be.

"Of course he's on her side! He's always been on her side!" I snapped. Ivan looked taken aback and I sighed, realizing that getting angry at him wasn't going to get us anywhere. "I'm sorry, but they've got a gun now as well and I'm fearing for the girls' safety. I don't trust Tasha one bit."

"A g-gun?" Ivan spluttered, looking afraid. He cursed and started pacing. He was on the verge of freaking out again. "Maybe we should just make a break for it, now that they're distracted. W-we could run to the police department and-"

"If they know we're gone, they're going to hurt those girls," I cut him off. "I know they will. We can't risk their lives."

After everything I'd witnessed today, I was sure that Tasha wouldn't react well to our betrayal and she'd take her vengeance by inflicting pain on Rose and Lissa. For some reason she thought that Rose meant something to me. Sure, I thought she was beautiful and I might've stared at her longer than I should have, but I didn't know her. I would've liked to get to know her under different circumstances, though. _What the hell are you thinking, Dimitri? You have other things to worry about now._

"What about our lives, Dimka?" Ivan said, bringing me back to the here and now.

I scoffed. "Now is not the time to be selfish, Ivan. If you didn't get involved with them in the first place, this never would've happened." Well, it probably would have happened, but without us in the middle of it. "I could've walked away, but I stayed for you! Now I'm asking _you_ to stay and help me get those girls out of here."

Ivan looked torn. "I'm scared, Dimka." He stopped pacing and looked at me. "What's going to happen to us – if we ever get out of here, I mean. We're going to be locked up in prison for this."

"I know you're scared. I am too," I said, trying to remain calm. "But we have to do the right thing. I can't stop you if you want to run, though. I can't stop you either if you're going to join Jesse and Tasha in their madness to save your own skin, but as your friend I'm asking you to keep what we've said here to yourself."

"I'm not joining them," Ivan said, balling his hands into fists, suddenly angry. "A-and I'm no coward! I'm not leaving without my best friend." He took a deep breath and, suddenly, he didn't look afraid anymore. "So if you want to leave with the girls, then I'll help you. No matter what."

I was relieved to hear it. "I'm finally hearing my best friend speak again after a long time."

Ivan looked down at the floor, hands in his pockets. "You were right," he mumbled. "Jesse's a bad influence on me. I realize that now." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "But I swear, I never thought he was capable of doing this. H-he's family. I didn't think he would… I'm sorry."

I sighed. "Honestly, I think Tasha is the main problem here. Her behavior is deeply disturbing." And I guessed we hadn't even seen half of it yet. "I think she planned this all along," I confided. "It was no coincidence we went to that store and met those girls."

Ivan looked confused so I explained him my reasons for thinking Tasha had set us up. I was careful when I told him that I believed Jesse was in on it as well.

"I don't know how she found out, but I think she knew those girls were going to be at that store. It was all a set-up."

"That's crazy," Ivan said, shaking his head. " _She_ is crazy." He started pacing again. "God, I don't know what to think anymore."

 _Me neither._

"Can you go downstairs and keep them busy for a while?" I asked.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Ivan asked, anxious.

"I'm going to check on the girls," I answered, "and give them a chance to defend themselves in case Tasha gets any ideas. Besides, I have a few questions for Lissa about the house. There's gotta be a way to warn the police."

Ivan nodded. "Okay, I'll keep them distracted."

"Thanks," I muttered.

I went downstairs with Ivan, but we parted in the hallway. Going through the living room and keeping clear from the office, I walked into the kitchen and looked around. It was true what Ivan had told me. Everything that could be used as a weapon had disappeared. The knife block had disappeared. The shards that had been on the floor were gone.

Walking over to the trashcan, I looked inside and found the shards. Well, I guess that was something. Passing through the living room again, I looked around for anything sharp, but there was nothing. Quietly, I slipped back into the hallway and tiptoed my way upstairs. I could hear a lot of chattering and laughing coming from the office so that meant they were still busy counting their cash.

When I opened the door to Lissa's bedroom, Rose's head snapped up and her eyes widened when she saw me. Quietly, I closed the door and walked over to them. I put my finger to my lips and then tore the tape from her mouth.

"Ouch," Rose muttered.

Lissa flinched away when I reached out to her. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," I told her before removing the tape from her mouth as well. "I need your help."

"Are you going to untie us?" Rose asked, scowling at me.

"No, but I brought you this," I said, dropping the shard in Rose's hands. Her skin was warm and I felt a spark when our hands touched. I ignored it. "In case something goes wrong and you need to get loose quickly. I know it's not much."

"Why can't you untie us?" Rose demanded. "We could escape right now!"

"No, every door's locked and Tasha's got the keys," I told her. "And…they found your dad's gun," I added, looking at Lissa now.

"What?" Rose gasped, struggling to turn her head towards Lissa. "Your dad has a gun?"

"I don't know about any guns," Lissa said in a high-pitched voice.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, I didn't know my dad had a gun!" Lissa cried out, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. "I only knew about the money."

"Well, they've found that too," I said cautiously. "They're counting it right now."

"So what's the plan?" Rose asked. "How are you going to get us out of here?"

I sighed. "I don't know yet. I have to get the keys somehow. And preferably the gun."

"Well, figure something out!" Rose hissed.

"Lissa, did your dad install any alarms in the house other than the one in the kitchen and the front door?" I asked.

Lissa didn't respond. I looked at Rose and she shrugged.

"What are you doing? Tell him, Liss!" Rose said, trying to nudge her friend.

"I don't know if we should trust him," Lissa shot back.

"I know it's hard, but we're gonna have to," Rose said, glancing at me. "He's the only chance we have to get out of here." Still, Lissa said nothing. "Please, Lissa! Do it for Andre. We have to get him out of here as well."

That did it. "There's a panic button," she said quietly. "If you press it, the local police department will be directly warned."

"Okay, where is it?" I asked frantically. I didn't think I had much longer.

Lissa laughed, but it was without mirth. "It's on the underside of the desk in his office."

My heart sank. That's where they were right now. If they found it, they'd destroy it. _Shit._

"Thanks," I muttered. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to put the tape back over your mouths. If Tasha comes in, you're going to have to hide that shard, Rose. If I fail, you should free yourself and get your friend out of here."

"And how am I going to know if you fail?" Rose snapped. "I'm kind of stuck here."

"Probably when you hear a gunshot," I answered with a shrug.

"One more thing," she said quickly when I started to put the tape back over her mouth. "Why would you risk your own life to save a couple of strangers?"

That was an easy enough question. "Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself otherwise," I said, my voice quiet, and then I put the tape back over her mouth.

 **RPOV**

As soon as Dimitri left, I started working on the tape around my wrists. The shard wasn't big, but the edge was sharp enough to get through the duct tape. I felt Lissa move around anxiously. It was difficult, but once I had a good grip on the shard I was able to cut through the tape quickly. As soon as my hands were free, I tore the tape from my mouth and started working on my feet while Lissa grew more and more anxious.

"I'll set you free in a second," I told her.

But when I pulled the tape from her mouth, she whispered, "What are you doing, Rose? Dimitri said-"

"I don't care what he said," I cut her off as I freed her hands. "I'm not going to wait until he saves the day. We'll save ourselves."

"But they have a gun now," Lissa said, her eyes wide in fear. "My dad's gun. I didn't even know he owned one." She wrapped her fingers around my arm. "Please don't do anything stupid. You said to trust Dimitri so…let's trust him." She looked at me pleadingly. "He'll find the panic button and then we'll all be rescued. Please just wait. I don't want you to die."

I hesitated for a brief moment. "Lissa, I have to get you out of here. I'm not going to let them hurt you. I'll be quick, I promise. I know my way around the house better than they do. But if you hear someone come up the stairs, I want you to hide under the bed. No excuses."

"What if they catch you?" she said, her voice breaking. "They'll hurt you!"

"Don't you worry about me, Lissa." I gave her a reassuring smile. "I can take care of myself."

There was a moment of silence and then Lissa said, looking out of the window, "Look, the weather's changing."

I looked out the window as well. The sky had turned a darker grey and it had started to rain. "There might come a storm after all." Not that that was important right now. I started to move away, but she stopped me again, her eyes begging me to stay.

"Why are you willing to trust him now?" I asked. "Just a few moments ago, you didn't even want to tell him about the panic button."

She sighed. "Because you're right. He might be our only chance to get out of here." She paused, rubbing her fingers against her sore wrists. "You might be able to defend yourself, but you can't defend us both. Not when they have a gun. So…we need him. He…he looks strong, don't you think?"

Yeah, he did look strong, but not strong enough to take on three people. Unless he managed to get his friend on his side.

"I hope his friend will help us, but we can't count on that," I said, voicing my thoughts out loud. "I mean…if something does go wrong…he can't fight them all off on his own at the same time. Especially not now that they have a gun." I eyed Lissa carefully. "Do you have any idea why your dad would keep a gun in the house?"

"No," Lissa said miserably. "I had no clue. Maybe it was for protection. Maybe it was for when something like this happens."

"The least he could've done was tell you if it was for situations like this one," I grumbled unhappily. I paused, thinking. "Maybe Andre knew."

"Do you think he's going to be alright?" Lissa sniffled.

I gave her a sad smile. "I really hope so. Now stop trying to distract me," I said decisively. "I'm doing this. Dimitri's going to need all the help he can get."

Lissa nodded, realizing there was no changing my mind. "Be careful."

* * *

 _Rose seems pretty determined! Hopefully she manages to stay out of trouble. I hope you liked this chapter! Have a great weekend! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you very much for the reviews! I'm glad you all like it so far! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5**

 **RPOV**

Quietly, I walked down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs when I saw Dimitri standing on the landing, looking into the hallway downstairs. Even though I'd made little noise, his head snapped up and his eyes widened when he saw me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed as he made his way back up the stairs.

"What the hell are _you_ doing?" I shot back, placing my hands on my hips. "Why haven't you activated the panic button yet?"

"They're still in there!" he said in a hushed voice. "Go back. I don't want you to mess this up."

"I'm not messing up anything!" I said, raising my chin, feeling a little bit indignant at his words. "You on the other hand-"

"Be quiet!"

Suddenly, he pushed me against the wall and clasped his hand over my mouth, silencing me. Downstairs, I heard a door slam shut, then voices filling the hallway. Dimitri inched further away from the top of the stairs, pulling me along with him. My heartbeat picked up and I prayed we wouldn't get caught. Maybe I should have listened to Lissa after all.

But then another door opened and closed and the voices grew more distant. If I were to guess their whereabouts I'd say they'd moved to the living room. Dimitri pulled his hand away and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, that was close!" I whispered, smiling despite the situation. My heart was still hammering in my chest, though.

"Rose, you have to go back," Dimitri pleaded. "Let me handle this."

"You're going to need all the help you can get," I countered. He looked exasperated, but I was not backing down. "I'm not going back," I said firmly, taking a step forward and he took a step back, stunned. "You can't stop me."

And before he could react, I dashed down the stairs and ran to the office. Lucky for me, they hadn't locked it behind them. Dimitri was on my heels, but I reached the panic button before he could stop me – not that that was his intention. I think he wanted to get out of here as much as I wanted to. He didn't look very happy with me, though.

"See, that wasn't such a big deal now, was it? Now you can escort me back to Lissa's room if you like and wait for the cops. _Or_ ," I added, "we could take matters into our own hands and – shit."

I looked up when Tasha and Jesse both suddenly appeared behind Dimitri, looking very angry and maybe even a little bit menacing.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tasha demanded.

Jesse grabbed Dimitri by the collar and pushed him against the wall, taking out a knife with his other hand. Dimitri shoved against him, but as soon as he saw the knife he stopped struggling. It must've been the knife Tasha had threatened me with earlier. I didn't think she would just hand it over, but then I noticed that she was holding on to the gun they'd found. I guess she'd wanted to trade up.

"Did you release her?" Tasha hissed, glaring at Dimitri. "Did the pretty girl wrap you around her little finger?"

"I knew he'd betray us as soon as he got the chance," Jesse said, punching Dimitri in the stomach. He seemed unfazed, though, and took the hit like a man.

"Stop!" I said, starting to feel a little bit panicked. I didn't want them to hurt Dimitri. "He didn't do anything."

"Rose, no," he said, shaking his head.

"What are you doing? Let him go!" Ivan looked aghast as he pushed his way past Tasha and into the office. "Please let him go, Jesse!"

"He's a traitor!" Jesse growled.

"He's not!" I exclaimed.

Slowly, Tasha made her way over to me. I kept glancing down at the gun she was holding in her hand. It made me feel uneasy. Did she know how to use it?

"Explain!" she said. "What are you doing in here? If Dimitri didn't set you free, then how did you manage to get loose?"

"I freed myself," I lied. I looked at Dimitri, pleading with him to stay silent. _Think quick now, Rose!_ "I – I picked up a glass shard when I was sitting next to Andre on the floor. I hid it and used it to get free. Then I sneaked downstairs and came here so I could set off the silent alarm, but Dimitri caught me before I could."

"So you didn't trigger it?" Tasha asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

I looked at Dimitri again and he gave a slight shake of his head. I think he was trying to tell me that I shouldn't lie about this. She was going to find out anyway because soon enough there would be cops banging on the front door. Maybe he was right and I didn't want to anger Tasha any further. She was unpredictable and she had a lot of anger issues. If I lied about this now, it might cost me my life.

"I might have triggered it a little," I admitted.

"You little bitch!" Jesse roared.

Tasha was oddly quiet, but then suddenly, she leaped forward and struck me in the face with the flat of the gun. I gritted my teeth, biting away the pain. That was definitely going to leave a bruise.

"You swear Dimitri had nothing to do with this?" she screamed. "You _swear_?"

I glared at her. "I swear."

"Let him go, Jesse," Tasha said then, suddenly calming down.

"What?" Jesse exclaimed, outraged.

"Let him go!" she repeated, louder this time.

With great reluctance, Jesse did as he was told and let go of Dimitri. Glaring, Dimitri shoved his shoulder into Jesse's and stepped to the side. He tried to catch my eye, but I was afraid to look. It seemed to me that Tasha had a soft spot for him. As long as she believed Dimitri didn't help me in any way, he would be safe. I didn't know why I was suddenly trying to protect him, but I guess it was my fault we were in this mess.

Maybe I should have let Dimitri handle the situation. I should've stayed put and let Dimitri press the panic button. He might've gotten away with it and he surely would've been more quiet than I had been.

"What are we going to do now? The cops will be on our doorstep soon!" Jesse said. This was the first time his confidence wavered.

Tasha's voice was cold as she said, "We'll figure that out in a minute. First, we're going to kill her."

And then she aimed the gun at me. I shut my eyes so I wouldn't have to stare down the barrel and see the bullet hit me in the chest. Suddenly, a thought shot through my mind, _My dad's not going to get through this a second time_ , and it filled my heart with fear. I couldn't die. Not like this.

But what could I do about it?

Then, all of a sudden, Dimitri shouted, "No!" and when I opened my eyes again, he stood protectively in front of me, his hands curled into fists, ready for a fight.

"Dimka, what are you doing?" Ivan cried out in sheer panic.

Immediately, Tasha took a step back and started to lower the gun, looking stunned. But then her grip on the gun tightened and she raised it again.

"You're making the wrong choice, Dimitri!" she screamed. "Do you think that pretty little girl is going to be _grateful_ if you get her out of here safely? Do you think that rich bitch is going to thank you and go out with scum like you? You're wrong!"

"I'm not going to let you hurt anybody else!" Dimitri said firmly, keeping me behind him. "Do you want to go to jail for the rest of your life?!"

To my surprise, Jesse said all of a sudden, "He has a point, Tasha. I don't want to be locked up for the rest of my life. We shouldn't make any rash decisions." He paused. "And she is probably just as rich as her friend. They won't stop until they find us. If any of us were harmed, they wouldn't even make a fuss."

"Exactly," Tasha growled. "Because we're scum, right? We're at the bottom of the food chain. We don't deserve more. We don't deserve a better life!"

"Tasha, you can't do this!" Ivan exclaimed. "You'll send us all to jail if you do! I don't want to go to jail. And this girl doesn't deserve to die."

"Yes," Jesse agreed, taking a step forward. "I hate this as much as you do, Tash, but he's right. That bitch is not worth it. Let's just grab the money and disappear."

"Shut up," Tasha hissed, her hand trembling. "I'm in charge here. Not you."

"This was not part of the plan!" Jesse protested. "We weren't going to kill anyone! We were just going to scare them and take the money! I don't mind you toying with them, but I'm not killing them! We should get out of here before the cops are on our doorstep!"

"They won't be coming," Tasha exclaimed. "Look outside!"

I looked out the window and suppressed a heavy sigh. She might be right. The sky had darkened and it was raining heavily now. I could hear the drops crash and the wind beating against the walls. The storm was coming, alright. And there was probably no one mad enough to check out an alarm in this weather.

"Let's just take a deep breath and figure out a plan," she said. "We can't escape in this weather. At least not with a decent plan." Her hand stopped trembling; she had a firm grip on the gun again. "Look, if you don't want to be accomplices you should leave the room now. I'm going to kill this girl either way. So get out of the way, Dimitri," she said with clenched teeth. "She deserves to die for alarming the police."

"No! You can't!" Ivan exclaimed.

"Um," I said to Dimitri, swallowing past the lump in my throat. Sweat was breaking out on my forehead. "You might want to leave now."

"I'm not going anywhere," Dimitri said firmly, standing his ground.

"Please don't do anything stupid, Dimka," Ivan pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Dimitri repeated. "If you want to kill her, you've got to go through me first. But I know you won't hurt me."

"Please don't hurt him!" Ivan cried out, reaching forward, but Jesse pulled him back by the collar. "What are you doing? Let go of me! _Let go_!"

Tasha's hand was shaking again as she pointed the gun at Dimitri, hesitating. He didn't even look scared. He was using her soft spot for him and it seemed to be working. I guess I should count myself lucky he was willing to gamble his life for mine. Involuntarily, I wrapped my hand around Dimitri's arm and squeezed. Tasha was trembling bad now. For the first time she might actually look afraid.

"Please put down the gun," Dimitri said calmly. "No one has to die today."

"Tasha, please," Jesse said after a few moments. "We can still get out of here without getting caught. We can take the money and leave the country. Start a new life somewhere else. But we're going to have to figure out a plan _right now_. Preferably one that doesn't involve killing them. Cops will chase us the rest of our lives if we do!"

Finally, Tasha put the gun down. "Take your precious girl back upstairs, Dimitri, and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid! And don't put her together with the other girl again. Ivan will watch that one."

"Hey, that's not happening! I want to be with Lissa!" I protested. "She needs me."

"Don't worry. Ivan will take good care of her," Tasha sneered.

"It's okay, Rose," Dimitri said softly. "He won't hurt her." He put a hand on my shoulder and guided me to the door. "Come on."

But then Tasha grabbed his arm. "Don't play any tricks on me. If you do, I'm going to make you watch me torture that girl."

"If you touch her again, I'll deliver you to the cops myself," he said suddenly, his voice ice cold and threatening. "You're going to be locked up in prison, and I'll be smiling knowing how miserable you are as you rot away." She snatched her hand away, as if he'd burned her. She scowled, but this time she couldn't hide her true feelings. She was upset. Dimitri had hurt her feelings. _Good._ "Now get the hell out of my way."

* * *

 _If only Rose had been more quiet... Thank God our comrade was there to save her! :D I know this chapter was short, but I promise next chapters will be longer. Next chapter will contain a long conversation between Rose and Dimitri ;)_

 _Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Have a wonderful day/evening! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you very much for the reviews! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6**

 **RPOV**

"Damn," I said, whistling. "You can be cold."

Now that my life wasn't being threatened, I felt much more at ease. I glanced up at Dimitri as he walked me back upstairs. He didn't respond; he just took me by the arm and led me to the bathroom. I craned my neck when we passed Lissa's bedroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but I guess she was still hiding under the bed. I was relieved she hadn't come downstairs as well when the commotion had started.

"She's under the bed," I said, turning around to Ivan, who was walking behind us. "You should treat her nice. She's been through a lot today."

Ivan eyed me carefully, but he remained silent as well. Then he walked into Lissa's bedroom and closed the door.

"She deserves it, though," I continued to Dimitri. "She's psycho."

Quiet, he pushed the door to the bathroom open and let me enter. Then he followed me in and closed the door, switching on the light. It had become pitch black outside now and the wind had picked up even more.

"Sit down," he said softly. "You're bleeding. I need to take a look."

I lifted my hand and pressed it against my throbbing cheek. "This? Oh, it's just a scratch. I've had worse before." But I sat down on the edge of the bathtub anyway and watched as Dimitri searched the cabinets. "Thanks for saving my life, by the way."

"You saved mine as well, I guess," he replied. He turned to look at me. "It was brave, but stupid." A small smile crossed his face. "Mainly stupid."

"I know." I sighed. "She seems to think you have a thing for me," I said slowly after a few moments, watching him carefully. Not that I could see much of his face when he had his back turned on me.

"She's delusional." He seemed to have found what he was looking for: a box of Q-tips and Betadine.

I raised an eyebrow. "So you don't think I'm pretty?"

Finally, he looked up at me. "No – I mean, that's not what I – yes," he stammered. He was flustered all of a sudden. It was rather amusing to watch. "Of course you're pretty."

I smiled, ignoring the pain in my cheek. "Aww, thanks! I knew I hadn't imagined you staring at me when I was yelling at your friend," I said, teasing him. His cheeks reddened. "Has no one ever told you it's rude to stare?"

"I know, I'm sorry," he mumbled. Then he scowled. "And Jesse's not my friend."

"No?" I asked, genuinely interested. "Then how did you end up here with him?"

He cut me a look. "I told you before. I came for Ivan. He's my-"

"Friend, yes," I finished for him. "You risk a lot for your friend."

"He's my best friend. I'd do anything for him."

"Even go to jail for him?"

Dimitri looked away, clenching his jaw. "If that's what's going to happen to me, then so be it. I deserve whatever I get after everything that happened today."

I studied him, frowning. He seemed to be sincere.

With a sigh, he knelt down in front of me and poured Betadine on the Q-tips. "Sit still," he said before he brushed a swab against my cheek.

"Ouch," I muttered, flinching. "That stings."

A reluctant smile crossed his face. "You don't even blink when you get hit in the face _twice_ , but when I try to clean your wound you start whining?"

I huffed. "I'm not whining!"

"Whatever you say," he murmured, picking up another swab.

I stayed quiet this time and let him work his magic. He was so close right now I could smell his aftershave again. Earlier when he'd pushed me against the wall, I'd smelled it too, but it registered only now how nice it smelled. _I hope_ I _don't smell like sweat,_ I thought involuntarily. When he was finished, I looked him in the eyes and gave him a grateful smile, which he returned. He had a nice smile as well, and kind eyes.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"You're welcome."

I hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "Why did you jump in front of me? She could have killed you."

"I could ask you the same thing," he said. "Why did you lie to Tasha for me?"

"That's not the same thing. I didn't have a gun aimed at me at the time." I was frowning again. "I get that you want to protect your friend – I'd do the same thing for Liss – but I'm a stranger to you. Why would you risk your life for a stranger?"

"I don't want your death on my conscience – or your friend's. I want to get us out of here alive," he responded after a few moments, looking up at me. "Besides, I knew she wasn't going to hurt me."

I scoffed. "How can you know that? I mean, that girl is _insane_."

Dimitri looked away for a moment. "She has a crush on me," he admitted, almost embarrassed.

I figured as much, but I laughed anyway because it was absurd.

He looked back up at me with a scowl on his face. He took another swab and started cleaning the cut on my neck. "What's so funny about that?"

I sobered up. "Nothing," I answered quickly. "It's just…weird. I mean, _she_ is weird – and fucked up." I gave him an apologetic look. "I feel sorry for you."

"Yeah, well," he muttered. "I guess that's the kind of girls I attract."

"Or maybe you haven't met the right girl yet," I told him.

His eyes met mine again, and his gaze was so intense it took my breath away for a moment. "Yeah, maybe," he said at last, his voice barely above a whisper.

Then he moved away from me and sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. I slid down to the cold floor as well and scooted over to where he was sitting.

"Do you think she's going to let us go?" I asked after a while.

"I don't know. I hope so," he said, sighing heavily. "But I don't trust her. Like you said, she's insane and she'll do whatever it takes to get out of here – with the money."

"Yeah, she seems a little bit unpredictable," I said quietly.

Dimitri snorted. "That's an understatement."

"The cops will be here soon," I said. I glanced out the window again. Was that lightning I saw in the distance? "I mean, they have to be here soon, right? They can't ignore an alarm, even if the weather's bad."

"I don't know. I hope they'll come," Dimitri answered. He looked at me apologetically. "I'm so sorry. I know I said I'd get you out of here, but I don't know how. Ivan's on our side, but he's scared out of his mind and I can't come up with a plan that gets all of us out of here unharmed. I can't even defend you or myself because I can't get my hands on a weapon. They've put everything that's sharp in the basement, together with Andre, and that door is locked. So I can't get Andre out of there and I can't get a weapon or _something_ to protect you with." He shook his head, sighing again. "It's just not possible. I mean, they're armed and we're not. They have the keys and the only functioning phone in this house and we have literally nothing. And Tasha's constantly holding on to that gun... I can't risk any of your lives like that."

I placed my hand on top of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. It's going to be alright. We're going to get out of here and once we do…"

He gave me a questioning look, waiting for me to continue.

"I won't press any charges against you," I told him. "And I'll make sure Lissa won't either. We'll explain everything to the cops and you and your friend will be free to go. I promise."

Dimitri shook his head again. "I don't deserve to walk free."

"Yes, you do," I returned, and I honestly believed he deserved to walk free. He'd been trying to help us since this whole mess started. He'd defended and risked his life for me. He was not like the others. "I'm curious, though. How did you end up with those guys? What's the story?"

"There's no story," he responded. He paused, hesitating for just a moment, and then started explaining. "Jesse is Ivan's older cousin. Lately, he keeps wanting to hang out with Jesse. He looks up to him." He rolled his eyes. "God knows why. Anyway… Ivan's easily influenced by others. He's never had many friends and was bullied a lot when he was younger. When I moved here, I didn't know anybody, but then I met Ivan and we always kind of stuck together since then. So when he started hanging out with Jesse, I just came along because I didn't trust the guy. I guess I was hoping I could keep him out of trouble, but I failed big time at that."

I kind of felt sorry for him. If it hadn't been for his friend, then he would've never been in this situation. But where would Lissa and I be if he hadn't been here to protect us? Probably five feet under the ground – if it depended all on Tasha at least.

"Where are you from?" I asked, changing the subject. "I can't place your accent."

"I'm from a small town called Baia, in Russia."

"Why did you move?"

"Because life was supposed to be better in America," he muttered unhappily.

I nudged my shoulder against his. "Life will be better after today. Cheer up, comrade."

He gave me a strange look. "Comrade?"

I smiled. "What? It fits you perfectly."

A reluctant smile crossed his face. "So what should I call you then?"

I shrugged. "That's not for me to figure out. You have to come up with something, but I doubt it will be as awesome as my nickname for you."

His smile turned into a laugh.

I grinned at him. "I didn't know you could laugh. You always look so…serious."

"You've only known me for a day," he countered. "You can't know I always look serious. I don't," he added. "I can be fun. Today's just not…a fun day."

"That's a bit of an understatement," I said, still grinning. "But I'll take your word for it. You'll have to show me one day how much fun you can be, then."

He looked up at me, surprised, and I was pretty sure I was blushing. Maybe I'd said a little bit too much… _Way to go, Rose._ But then he said, his eyes twinkling and a smile tugging at his lips, "I will."

That's when I felt a weird fluttering in my stomach. Confused, I clutched it. Maybe I was hungry?

"Uh, you don't think there's a chance I can eat those nachos I bought earlier?" I asked, looking at him sheepishly. "I'm kinda hungry." He arched an eyebrow at me, amused. "Right. I guess not then."

"You don't go to public school, do you?" Dimitri said after a while, momentarily distracting me from the fluttering in my belly. "I haven't seen you around town before."

"No, I go to a private school with Lissa," I answered. "I'm not a snob, though," I added hastily.

"I didn't think you were."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

His smile widened. "Really. But I do think you're very brave."

"But mainly stupid, right?" I joked.

"Maybe I was wrong," he said. "Maybe you're more brave than stupid after all. When you called out Jesse in the parking lot for instance. That was really brave. It was kind of why I was staring at you back in the car," he admitted. "That, and you're beautiful."

"Oh, am I getting an upgrade now?" I teased, feeling flattered. His cheeks reddened so I decided to give it a rest. "Well, thank you. Maybe I should've left it alone, though. We might not be sitting here if I'd let it go."

He shook his head, sighing. "I don't think it would've mattered. Tasha had already targeted you – even before Jesse called out to you."

I looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

The look on his face was grave. "After you left with Lissa, Tasha said we should give you a scare to pay you back for the way you treated Jesse. I asked them not to do it, but Tasha was very convincing. I don't think it was a coincidence, though, that we met you there in the parking lot. I think it was Tasha's plan to break in here all along, but she needed us to be on board. I'm not sure if Jesse was in on it too, but Tasha has known Jesse for a long time. She knows he's arrogant and when he didn't get the response from you that he wanted, he was annoyed and I think she knew how to use that. But that might be far-fetched." He shrugged. "He probably just knew."

I frowned. I was more confused than I'd been before his explanation. "I don't get it. How did you come to that conclusion?"

Dimitri hesitated for a brief moment. "Lissa is dating her cousin. Christian Ozera."

My eyes widened in shock. _What the hell?_

"Apparently Christian talks a lot about Lissa and that's how Tasha found out a few things about her," he said. "Where she lives. That she's rich. That her parents are gone this weekend."

"Oh my God," I whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah… And why would she have duct tape with her if she didn't plan it on beforehand? My guess is that she also knew you'd be there at the store, but don't ask me how she'd know that," he said with a shake of his head.

"Well, she could only have known that if she stalked Lissa," I said, outraged. "Liss and I always go to the store on Thursdays to buy nachos. Because Thursday night is movie night." I scowled. "That's really disturbing."

"Well, well, I see the two of you have got me figured out."

Startled, I looked up and saw Tasha standing in the doorway. Dimitri tensed up next to me, glaring at the crazy girl.

"Good job." She was playing with a lighter. I guess I should be grateful she wasn't playing with the gun or her knife at the moment. "But you got one thing wrong."

"And what's that?" I snapped.

"Let's just say that I trusted a lot on Jesse's basic instincts when it comes to girls and money," she answered and she smiled wickedly.

I sighed, exasperated. "Seeing as you already knew so much about the Dragomirs, why didn't you just wait until everyone was gone and look for the money then? Wouldn't that have been so much easier?"

"Because I like playing games," Tasha said, her voice as cold as her eyes. "And if you're not careful, I'm going to burn that pretty hair of yours."

"You keep calling me pretty," I said. "Are you jealous? I could give you a few makeup tips. I'm sure if you stop doing the panda look more boys will be interested in you. But I'm afraid that once they get to know you they'll run anyway. So maybe we should do a personality makeover as well."

I felt Dimitri freeze next to me and he stretched out his arm, holding it protectively in front of me when Tasha took a step closer, about to strike me again.

"Don't you dare," Dimitri warned.

Suddenly, a bright light shone through the window. I looked out the window and saw that the light came from the headlights of a car.

"I guess the cops finally arrived. I want the both of you to stay put." She gave us one last hateful glance before turning around. "I mean it. Don't do anything stupid."

When she'd left, Dimitri shook his head at me. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but if I'm going to die, I might as well annoy the hell out of her first," I answered.

"You're not going to die," he said brusquely as he got up from the floor. "I won't let that happen."

"Come on, don't be mad now, comrade," I said with a grin. "I know you thought it was funny. And you know I'm right."

Smiling reluctantly, he held out his hand. When I grabbed it, he pulled me up. "Okay, maybe it was funny," he admitted. His smile turned genuine. " _Roza._ "

I blinked, feeling a little dazed as I looked at him. Why did I have that strange fluttering feeling again? "Is that my nickname?"

He nodded.

"I like it." I blinked again. "What are we doing by the way? I thought Tasha ordered us to stay here."

"Yeah, but this time I'm not going to sit back and listen to her. We need to find a way to warn the cop. Do you want to come with me?"

I grinned at him. "Hell yeah."

* * *

 _There you go! I hope you liked this chapter, and Rose and Dimitri's little moment together! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Have a great weekend! :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Thank you very much for the reviews! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7**

 **DPOV**

"What are we going to do?" Rose asked, almost excited, as she followed me out of the bathroom.

"Honestly, I have no idea," I said, "but _something_ 's gotta happen. Now's our chance to get help so we should do whatever we can."

I stopped in my tracks when Jesse appeared at the top of the stairs and Rose bumped into me. Slowly, Jesse made his way over to us.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked slowly, the kitchen knife gleaming in his hand. "Tasha told you to stay put."

"And what are you doing here?" I returned. "Shouldn't you be helping her?"

"No, she'll handle the cop," he said casually. It seemed like he'd calmed down again. "Now go back into the bathroom and be quiet."

Ignoring him, I inched a little bit closer to the window in the hallway, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cop car, but Jesse blocked my way and raised the knife.

"Don't do anything stupid now," he said softly.

"I thought you didn't want to go to jail," I said, clenching my jaw. "I thought you wanted to escape as well. Then why are you letting Tasha do this?"

"She's got a plan," Jesse said. "She'll send the cop on his way and after the storm we'll leave." He glanced over at Rose and scoffed. "You can stay behind with the bitch if you like. I don't care."

I raised an eyebrow at him, skeptical. "So you're just going to take the money and leave after the weather has settled down? Just like that? After they've seen your faces? Even Tasha isn't _that_ stupid."

"You don't need to worry about that," Jesse said, clenching his jaw. "You just have to obey."

Rose snorted. "Obey! What is this, military camp?"

"You shut up," Jesse hissed, glowering at Rose. "You've been nothing but trouble."

"Trouble is my middle name, asshole," Rose said and she flipped him off again. "And don't look so pissed at me. I know you won't hurt me. You're too scared to end up in jail."

"Okay, Rose, that's enough now," I said quietly, taking a step back to stand in front of her before Jesse snapped.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. _Finally! What took him so long?_ I thought.

Jesse gave us a threatening look. "If you say one word, I'll-"

"Good evening, officer! How can I help you?" I heard Tasha say.

"Good evening, Miss. We're answering a silent alarm. Is everything okay?" the officer asked. I could barely hear his voice over the rain. "It wasn't clear with the rain and all, but I think I saw that the camera at the gate is damaged."

"Oh, is it? Everything's fine, though," Tasha responded. "I must've accidentally activated the alarm."

"I see." There was a moment of silence and then the officer said, "Forgive me for asking, but who are you exactly? I haven't seen you around the Dragomirs' house before."

Jesse looked nervous when he heard that, his hand firmly clasped around the knife as he watched us. I knew that if we wanted to warn the cop something was going to have to happen now, but as soon as I moved or shouted, that knife would be either used against me or Rose.

"I'm Abby. Andre's girlfriend," Tasha lied. "He's in the shower right now."

"Would you mind if I waited inside so I can speak with him?" the officer asked. "It's kinda wet out here and-"

"Actually…" That's when I stopped hearing Tasha's voice and I looked at Rose, my eyes widening. Did she go outside? _No, no, no…_

Without thinking, I leaped forward and pushed Jesse back against the wall. I hissed when the sharp end of the knife dragged across my palm, but I ignored the pain. Rose sprinted past us, but I exclaimed, "Don't go downstairs! Tasha has the gun!"

So instead, Rose ran over to the window and pounded her hands against the glass, trying to draw the cop's attention. When that didn't work, she started shouting. I had to focus on Jesse because he was struggling against me, trying to cut me with the knife. I managed to dodge it twice and took a swing at him.

"Hey! We're in here!" Rose shouted. "Help! Oh my God, he's looking! He's looking! HELP!"

Jesse tried to shove me away, but I slammed him against the wall again and tried to wrench the knife away from his hand. Suddenly, there was a gunshot, and everything stopped for a minute. Jesse stopped struggling, his face pale.

"No!" Rose gasped. She turned to look at me, aghast. "She shot him."

 _No, no, no. This can't be happening…_

A second gunshot followed, and then there was silence.

Jesse was coming to his senses again, but I was momentarily distracted when Ivan came flying out of Lissa's bedroom, his eyes wide in shock as he took in the scene. If he hadn't run into the hallway I would've probably seen the knife coming, but now I was too late to stop Jesse when he drove the blade into my side.

"No!" Rose screamed, and Ivan exclaimed in terror at the same time, "What the hell are you doing?"

I blinked, feeling faint for a moment, as I looked down at the blood spreading across my shirt. I frowned when I noticed there was a hole in my duster.

Rose rushed to my side. "Oh my God, Dimitri!" she cried out.

"It's okay," I said, trying to reassure her as I leaned back against the wall. "It's just a small cut. That's all. I'm okay."

"You're not okay!" Rose protested. She pressed her hand against my side and I groaned. "I'm sorry."

"You stabbed Dimka!" Ivan said, pointing an accusatory finger at his cousin. "How could you?"

"He wanted to warn the cop!" Jesse shouted, surprised at Ivan's angry reaction. "H-he attacked me! I was only defending myself!"

"Tasha shot a cop!" Rose said angrily. It wasn't bleeding that badly, but it was enough to make me feel dizzy. "She _shot_ him. If you wanted to escape, you should have helped us stop her! Now you've only made things worse for yourself."

"Just go, Roza," I murmured. I'd slid down to the floor by now and she was kneeling beside me, her hands still pressing down on the wound. "Take Lissa and go through the back door. I'll deal with Tasha."

"The back door is locked and we don't have the keys, remember?" She shook her head vehemently. "Besides, I'm not leaving you behind."

"Ivan and I will take down the door." But she was still shaking her head. "It's okay. I'll be-"

"I should have never listened to you!" Ivan suddenly roared, springing forward and shoving Jesse. Taken by surprise, Jesse took several steps back. "I can't believe I ever looked up to you! You just stabbed my best friend. You've only ever cared about yourself!"

"Stop it, Ivan," Jesse hissed, recovering from his shock. He raised the knife that was now covered in my blood. "Don't make me hurt you, too!"

"I'm your family!" Ivan yelled.

"Yes, you are," Jesse said, gritting his teeth, "but you know I'll do anything to protect myself. _No matter what_. You just said it yourself."

"Ivan, don't," I called out, starting to get up, but it was already too late.

They jumped on each other at the same time. I'd never expected Ivan to start a fight, but he must've been pumped with adrenaline because he struck Jesse twice on the jaw with his fist. I had the feeling Jesse was holding back, though, for which I was grateful. Maybe he didn't want to hurt his family after all. But then Jesse regained his strength and punched Ivan in the face. Blood spurted out of his nose and he stumbled backwards, stunned.

"I'm sorry," Rose said as she got to her feet.

"Rose, no!" I exclaimed as I tried to make a grab for her hand to pull her back, but she ran off and hurdled herself into Jesse's side. "Goddammit, Rose."

As I struggled to get up, all I could think about was that I needed to protect Rose, and I needed to protect Ivan. Jesse was much stronger than the both of them. If he decided he had enough of this, they were going to get seriously hurt. I felt lightheaded from the blood loss as I stood, but that wasn't important right now. I needed to help my friends. Suddenly, a thought entered my mind. _Where the hell is Tasha? What is she still doing outside?_

Jesse had thrown Rose off of him, but she didn't give up. She kept coming back, trying to twist his hand so he'd drop the knife. At last, he yelped and let go of the knife. At the same time, Ivan's fist connected with the side of his head and he tripped over his own feet, falling against the banister.

"Look out!" I exclaimed.

It all happened in a flash. Jesse snatched out his hands to Ivan, trying to grab hold so he could steady himself, but Ivan must've thought he was going to attack again so he gave a push and within seconds Jesse toppled over, screaming as he flailed wildly with his arms. Realizing what he'd done, Ivan reached out with his hand, but missed Jesse's outstretched arm. There was a loud thump, and the sound of bones breaking, and then everything was quiet.

"No!" Ivan gasped, leaning over the banister. He looked stricken. "No, _no._ What have I… What have I done?"

He and Rose rushed down the stairs. By the time I made it downstairs, Ivan was kneeling next to his cousin, crying. Rose looked up at me, ashen.

"Fuck," I muttered, feeling sick to my stomach when I saw Jesse lying on the floor. It looked like his neck was broken and his right arm was in a really weird angle. His eyes were staring up at the ceiling, looking empty. Even though he'd just stabbed me, I hadn't wanted him to die. I hadn't wanted anyone to die.

"He's dead," Ivan said, his voice breaking.

"I'm sorry, Ivan," I told him, my voice a little raspy. It was starting to get hazy in front of my eyes so I blinked, trying to keep my focus.

Rose walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Dimitri, you're bleeding out. We need to call 911."

"I'm fine," I said, waving away her worries.

"No, you're not!" she protested. "We need to ask Tasha for her cell phone. She'll want to help you. You're probably the only one in here she doesn't want to die."

"It's not that bad," I insisted.

"She's right," Ivan said quietly, still sitting beside Jesse's corpse. "You need a doctor."

Rose was about to say something, but was interrupted when Lissa came running down the stairs. She gasped when she saw Jesse's body and turned away from the horrible sight.

"Oh my God! What happened?" She put her hand over her mouth. "I heard gunshots and I couldn't – I couldn't keep waiting in there!" She looked at Rose, in tears again. When she saw the blood on Rose's hands, she gasped. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Liss," Rose said hurriedly. "That's not mine. It's Dimitri's blood." She stepped towards Lissa and grabbed her by the arm. "Listen, I need you to go back upstairs. Lock the door." Lissa started to turn, but Rose stopped her. "No, wait, don't go back to your room. Go to the attic. You can lock that door, right?"

"T-the attic?" she stammered.

"Yes, I want you as far away from Tasha as possible while we deal with her," Rose told her.

"Deal with her?" Lissa repeated frowning. "Rose, no. You should come with me."

"I agree with Lissa," I said, looking at Rose. "I don't want you to get hurt. Let us deal with Tasha."

Rose scowled at me. "I'm not going anywhere."

She looked rather determined so I decided to let it go. She was way too stubborn for me to convince her otherwise.

"Where is she anyway?" Lissa asked, already going back up the steps. "Tasha?"

"Still outside." I frowned. "I have no idea what she's still doing out there, though."

"Maybe lightning struck her," Rose snorted. "It'd serve her right. And if it's not that, I hope she gets pneumonia and dies. Or maybe the wind blew her away."

I couldn't help but smile. However grave the situation, Rose would always try to lighten the mood. And it was working – at least for me. Ivan looked less amused, which was understandable after he'd just watched his cousin die. Honestly, I shouldn't be thinking how funny Rose was because this situation was far from funny.

And then suddenly, all I could think about was Mama. She was probably worried sick by now. I should've been home a long time ago. If I survived tonight, she might kill me when she found out what had happened.

"Please go back upstairs now, Liss," Rose said again.

"What about my brother? He's still in the basement."

"He'll be safer there than if we try to break him free," I said, gritting my teeth. Who knew getting knifed would hurt like a bitch?

She nodded, though it was reluctant. She really feared for her brother, I realized, which was understandable. I'd be worried sick if I was in her situation and one of my sisters was locked up somewhere I couldn't get to. With one last glance at her best friend, Lissa disappeared back upstairs.

Rose sighed and looked at me. "What do you really think she's doing? Do you think she ran?"

I shook my head. "No, she wouldn't. The money is still here."

"Then what?" Rose said.

"I don't know."

Whatever it was, it couldn't be anything good.

 **TASHA POV**

When the doorbell rang, I put on a smile and opened the front door just a little bit. "Good evening, officer! How can I help you?"

The rain was beating down on the cop and he squinted up at me from under his cap. He had trouble staying on his feet because of the wind beating against him. I thought it was pretty funny.

"Good evening, Miss. We're answering a silent alarm. Is everything okay?" he asked. He tried to peer over my shoulder. "It wasn't clear with the rain and all, but I think I saw that the camera at the gate is damaged."

I looked over to the gate that I'd opened for him, feigning surprise. He'd parked his patrol car in front of it. "Oh, is it? Everything's fine, though. I must've accidentally activated the alarm."

"I see."

He regarded me silently, probably wondering if I was telling the truth. I smiled again, hoping my friendly face would ease his mind. He should trust me. After all, I opened the gate for him and let him through. Was there any culprit who'd do something like that?

"Forgive me for asking," he said at last, "but who are you exactly? I haven't seen you around the Dragomirs' house before."

I bit the inside of my cheek and my hand twitched, wanting to reach for the gun I was hiding behind my back. "I'm Abby. Andre's girlfriend." I didn't know how much longer I could keep the fake smile onto my face. "He's in the shower right now."

"Would you mind if I waited inside so I can speak with him?" the officer asked. Finally, my smile disappeared. This was not going to work. I'd have to put him down. "It's kinda wet out here and-"

"Actually…" I stepped outside and gently closed the door. I was soaked in a matter of seconds, but I couldn't care about that right now.

The cop narrowed his eyes at me, but then he stepped back all of a sudden and looked up, his eyes widening. There was a lot of confusion on his face as he stared, but then it was replaced by a look of determination and he reached for his gun, but he was too slow. I already had my finger on the trigger of my gun before he even touched his and shot him. He cried out in pain and took several steps back, holding his shoulder.

I sighed, feeling annoyed with myself that I hadn't killed him with the first shot. To be fair, it was dark outside and the rain was making it hard to keep my eyes open. If he'd been farther away, I would have probably missed him because the wind would have most likely carried the bullet elsewhere. So I guess this wasn't a bad shot after all.

The cop tried to put distance between us, but he didn't get very far. So instead, he reached for his radio. I aimed my gun, but I got almost blown off my feet – _literally._ Quickly, I could feel my annoyance turn into anger. _Stupid weather._

The cop saw my struggle and decided to run for it. With a loud growl, I aimed my gun again and shot him in the back. He fell to the ground instantly and didn't get up again. Slowly, I made my way over to him. He wasn't dead yet, but it looked like he wasn't going to live very long. He glanced up at me, his eyes wide in fear, and he tried to reach for his radio again.

I kicked his hand away and tutted. "You should have walked away when you had the chance."

He tried to speak, but blood spluttered from his mouth instead. There was a red spot growing on the front of his uniform, but it was quickly washed away by the rain. I blinked away the drops from my eyelashes and stared down at him with interest. I had no idea that watching someone die could make me feel so…powerful. Like I was God.

At last, he stopped moving and his eyes glazed over. I kind of wished it had taken him longer to die, but I should probably head back to the house anyway. I had to deal with the traitors. After all, someone had drawn the cop's attention to the window. It didn't take a genius to figure out who, but I wondered how she'd done it.

I bet Dimitri had something to do with it as well, and I regretted that I'd have to punish him for it. He was the only one I ever cared for and, if I could, I'd still leave this place with him by my side. I just needed to convince him that I was the better choice. I'd probably have to kill that bitch so whatever spell she'd cast on him would be broken and then he'd run away with me.

Even I had to admit she was a pretty little thing, but she was a whore and she didn't deserve him. His gaze had lingered on her too often today so the only thing left to do was to get rid of her. One way or another. I knew that when she was out of the picture, he'd realize that I was the only right person for him. I always have been. I was the only person who ever gave two shits about him. He should know that by now. If he didn't, he was a moron just like every boy in town. _Dimitri will make the right choice_ , I reassured myself. _He's too smart to let himself get fooled by pretty little rich girls. But if he chooses wrong…_

I wasn't really sure yet what I'd do if he chose wrong. The only thing I was sure about was that if I couldn't have him, no one could.

* * *

 _Uh oh! Seems like everything is going wrong for Rose and Dimitri! How did you like Tasha's POV? Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Have a wonderful day/evening! :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8**

 **DPOV**

"We've got to figure out a plan before she comes back," Rose said urgently, glancing nervously at the front door.

"I know, I know," I said, suppressing a sigh. I looked over at Ivan, who was still kneeling next to Jesse's body. He hadn't said anything for a long time now; it kind of looked like he was going into shock. I wished I could give him some words of comfort, but there was nothing I could tell him that was going to make him feel better right now. I focused my attention back on Rose. "If we hurry, I might be able to break down the back door. Then you can escape with Lissa and-"

Rose laughed without mirth. "I'm sorry, but you don't look like you'll be able to break down any doors anytime soon. Like I said before, _no_. We're not doing that."

I gritted my teeth. " _Fine._ Then you should hide with Lissa. You can't be here when Tasha comes back."

"I'm not leaving you all by yourself, not like this!" Rose protested. "You need help!"

"Ivan's here," I told her, sliding down to the floor and resting my head against the wall, trying not to wince in pain.

She looked over at Ivan, who was still staring down at Jesse. He didn't seem to hear us. "It doesn't look like he's going to be of much use anymore. Sorry, comrade."

"You should hide, Rose," I insisted. "I'll deal with Tasha."

"How?!" she exclaimed.

"I'll figure it out," I answered, exasperated. "Just go to the attic with Lissa."

"No," Rose said firmly.

"Don't argue with me, Rose! Just do as I say!"

But she didn't move. Giving me a defiant look, she repeated slowly, " _No_."

I glared at her, but she didn't waver. As we kept staring at each other, both of us angry with one another, a loud banging came from somewhere behind us and I tore my gaze away from her, startled.

"What's that?" I asked as I followed Rose through the hallway. I already had a feeling where that noise was coming from, though.

Rose stopped at the basement door. "Andre?"

The banging stopped immediately. "Rose? Can you get me out of here?" The voice was muffled.

Rose looked up at me. "Shit. Tasha has the damn keys."

"Hello? Are you still there?" Andre called out, rattling the doorknob from his side.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked through the door.

"No, someone knocked me out and then dumped me in the basement!" he exclaimed in outrage. "Of course I'm not okay!"

Rose flinched at the tone of his voice. "Andre… I'm afraid you're going to have to hold on a little while longer. Until everything's safe."

"What do you mean?" He started rattling the doorknob again. "Rose! What's going on? Where's my sister?"

"Your sister is safe upstairs. I know you have a lot of questions, but I need you to be quiet right now," Rose said. "We'll free you soon. I promise."

" _What the hell is going on?_ "

"Be quiet!" Rose snapped. I could see she already regretted snapping at him and she sighed. "Just hang on... I'll get you out, but you're going to have to trust me." Andre stopped rattling the doorknob and stayed silent. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

That's all he said, which was just as well because the front door slammed open. I pushed Rose back down the hallway, back towards the stairs. Ivan still hadn't moved an inch.

Tasha was soaked and her makeup had run down all over her face. It made her look even more crazy. Honestly, it was not a pretty sight. Slowly, she glanced around the hallway and took in the scene. Then her eyes met mine. They were blazing with anger.

"What the fuck happened in here?!" she screamed as she waved around with the gun. "You," she exclaimed, giving Ivan a kick with her foot. He didn't react. "Tell me what happened!"

But Ivan didn't reply. All he did was stare blankly at his cousin's face, clutching his hand until his own knuckles went white. I was starting to get really worried now.

"Leave him alone," I rasped, taking a step forward. Rose held onto my arm, fearing I was going to topple over. "It was an accident. Jesse and I were in a fight. Ivan only wanted to help. Don't blame him."

"No, I blame you!" Tasha hissed, glaring at me. "You defied me once again! I know you were trying to warn the cop! You were trying to get his attention!" She was still dangerously waving around with the gun, her finger on the trigger. "What was your plan, honestly? Kill Jesse first and then get rid of me? I don't know if you realize it, but I'm the one with the gun here! And whoever has the gun is in charge! Is that clear?" She pointed the gun at Rose. "You keep trying to turn Dimka against me. Why?" she said, almost desperate. "You don't know him. You don't care about him." She was getting really worked up now and a furious look crossed her face. "But _I_ know him! And _I_ care about him!"

I knew that what she was saying should worry me a great deal, but honestly, I was in too much pain right now to freak out about how possessive she was when it came to me. How Tasha's mind worked boggled me.

"Are you done?!" Rose exclaimed suddenly, letting go of me. Tasha looked at her, stunned. "If you care so much about him, then please get him some help!" Rose started to move forward, but I pulled her back to me. I wanted to keep her as far away as possible from Tasha. "He's hurt badly!"

A look of confusion crossed Tasha's face. She looked me over and then her eyes widened. In all her anger and madness, she hadn't even noticed I was hurt.

"Yes, your so-called friend did that!" Rose snapped. "He started a fight with Dimitri, and that's why I was trying to draw your attention."

Carefully, I glanced over at Rose. What was she up to? That was obviously a lie.

"Things were getting out of hand here so I thought if you came back in with the gun, you could settle things down. Keep your friend in check. But then he stabbed Dimitri with the knife _you_ gave him," Rose said accusingly, pointing at Tasha.

"Then he deserved to die," Tasha muttered darkly, glancing back at Jesse. She didn't even look upset that her friend was dead. "Where's the knife?"

"It's still upstairs," Rose muttered. She crossed her arms and huffed. "What does that even matter? Are you going to help Dimitri or not? He'll die if he doesn't get help. He's bleeding out."

"Rose," I protested quietly. She was really exaggerating now. Sure, I was bleeding, but medical help could wait until we were all safe. I had no trouble fighting through the dizzines and the pain until I knew Rose was safe. _Until everyone's safe,_ I corrected myself. "Don't."

She gave me a look that said I should keep my mouth shut and follow her lead.

"Does it hurt?" Tasha asked, her voice softer now, almost gentle. She lowered her gun and walked over to me. I tried not to flinch when she lifted my shirt to take a look. "I can help you out."

"Are you going to call 911?" Rose demanded.

"No," Tasha said. "I'll stitch Dimitri up myself. I was in nursing school for two years before I dropped out." An evil grin crossed her face. "Turned out helping people wasn't really my thing."

I paled at the thought of her stitching my wound. I had the feeling she was only going to make things worse. "I'm not bleeding that bad," I muttered, pulling away from Tasha.

Rose felt the same way. "Are you crazy? Dimitri needs a _doctor_. Someone who knows what he's doing! Jesse might have nicked a vital organ!"

"I know what I'm doing," Tasha said calmly. Her moods changed so quickly, I couldn't keep up with her. "No need to worry."

Suddenly, an idea hit me. If I let Tasha take care of me, it would give Rose all the time she needed to escape or at the very least get some help. The front door was still unlocked so she could easily run out to the cop car and get to the radio. It should work if I could keep Tasha distracted.

Rose started to protest again, but I cut her off, "It's fine, Rose. Let her do it."

I glanced at the front door, then gave her a pointed look. There wasn't much I could do or say to make her understand. I hoped she'd catch on; she was a smart girl. "You should stay here," I said slowly. "And don't do anything stupid." Rose frowned at me, confused. I let my eyes wander to the front door again and then I looked back at her. "Ivan will stay with you."

"Good idea," Tasha said, suddenly cheerful. "Hey, Ivan. You get Rose upstairs and lock her up with the other girl." When Ivan didn't react, Tasha walked back to him and smacked the back of his head. "Hey! Do you hear me?"

Finally, Ivan's head snapped up. He looked at her in surprise, as if he realized only now that she was here. "Yes," he whispered, but he didn't move.

Tasha seemed satisfied, though, and turned towards me. Grabbing my arm, she led me up the stairs to the bathroom, where she searched for a needle and thread. When she found what she was looking for, she took me back downstairs.

"Didn't I tell you to take her back upstairs?" Tasha snapped at Ivan. I only dared to look at Rose for a few seconds and nudged my head at the front door. She gave a small nod and then turned away before Tasha could notice our exchange. "If you don't want to end up like your cousin, you should listen!"

"What's your plan now?" I asked as she led me through the living room and into the kitchen. I was glad Andre had kept quiet. Hopefully, he'd continue to do so until the cops arrived. "You just killed a cop. You must know you can't stay here. As soon as the police realize their cop is missing, they'll send more."

"I know that," Tasha said irritably. "As soon as I've cleaned you up, we're leaving." She sat me down on a kitchen stool and smiled at me. "Just the two of us."

I thought it best not to argue right now. "You want to leave the country?"

"Yes. There's nothing for us here anymore."

A few moments of silence passed. I couldn't help but ask, "Why do you still want me to go with you? I mean, after everything…"

She looked at me as though I'd asked the stupidest question ever. "Because we're meant to be together, Dimka."

 _She's delusional._

"Tasha…" I said carefully. "I don't like you."

Her face was grim as she looked up at me. She placed the gun on the kitchen island and then she sat down on my lap. I tried not to cringe as she lifted my shirt again. "You don't like me right now," she murmured, "but once we leave, once we're somewhere else – just you and me – you'll see me for who I really am and you'll like me." Suddenly, she pulled out her lighter and flicked it. "You'll forget all about that stupid little girl."

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed when I could feel the heat of the flame against my skin. My hand shot out and I grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand and the lighter she was holding away. I winced in pain – I'd used the hand Jesse had cut open.

"Sealing your wound to stop the bleeding," she answered with a grin.

Finally, I pushed her off of me. "Are you crazy?"

She started laughing. "Oh, are you afraid it's going to hurt? Poor Dimka." She pouted, then laughed again. "Don't worry. I was just joking. I'll have to sterilize the needle, though, so it might be a little hot when I stitch you up."

"Stop playing games," I grumbled, glaring at her.

"It'll still hurt," she said, not even looking sorry, as she climbed back onto my lap. It took everything of me not to push her away again. I'd rather bleed to death than having her stitch me up, but I needed her to be distracted so that Rose could get us some help.

 _Please hurry, Roza…_

"I see your hand got sliced up as well," Tasha said with a frown. "It seems like Jesse really wanted you dead." She scoffed. "Bastard. I should've known he wasn't reliable. Good riddance."

I didn't understand how she could talk about her friend like that. I mean, Jesse was an ass and he did almost kill me, but he was her best friend. How could she turn on him so quickly? Was it really because he hurt me?

"Why are you doing this?" I asked after a few moments. "Why are you _really_ doing this? Were you that bored or was it all about the money? But why would you make a game out of it then? _Why_?"

"Both," she replied, a devilish grin crossing her face. "I was bored and I wanted the money. And… I fucking hate rich people."

 **RPOV**

When Tasha took Dimitri away to stitch him up, I waited a few moments, in case she came back. I couldn't waste much time, though, so after two full minutes, I started for the front door.

"I'm going to get us some help," I told Ivan. "I won't be long. If Tasha comes back, just tell her you brought me upstairs with Liss."

There was no verbal response, nor did he move, so I could only hope he'd heard. I had no time to lose. He was obviously in shock. Who wouldn't be after witnessing a family member die. It was surprising that _I_ was still functioning after everything that had happened today.

Throwing open the door, I stepped outside and immediately started shivering. I wrapped my arms around myself as the wind blew my hair in my face. As if it wasn't cold enough already, the rain started soaking through my T-shirt. I started running, towards the cruiser. It was difficult to keep my eyes open with the rain beating down on me. Because of the wind it almost seemed like I wasn't moving at all, and all the while my hair kept whipping in my face, it was making me mad.

Suddenly, I tripped and fell over. I'd expected the landing would be painful, but I landed on something soft. Squinting, I looked up and stifled a scream when I saw I'd stumbled over the cop's dead body. Quickly, I backed away and took a few deep breaths to calm down – and to keep myself from retching. _Maybe I don't have to go all the way…_

"It's okay," I reassured myself as I looked over the body. "It's okay…" I spotted the radio next to him, a few inches away from his stiff fingers. "Let's hope this still works."

It did. I almost cried happy tears when I heard it crackle. Finding my composure again, I talked rapidly into the radio, asking for help. I waited a few scary moments and then sagged in relief when an answering voice came through.

 _Thank God._

I repeated the address and then finished with, "Please hurry!" before scrambling to my feet. I hesitated for a brief moment, looking down at the cop. I didn't want to leave him out here like this, but I didn't have the time nor the strength to move him.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I rushed back to the house.

Ivan hadn't moved at all. He was still staring at Jesse, shell-shocked. I didn't have time to shake him awake. I needed to get us out of here. Quietly, I opened the door to the living room and tiptoed inside. I cringed when I heard the noise my shoes were making; they were too wet. Quickly, I slipped them off and continued on my socks. I almost skidded over the floor so I took a moment to regain my balance.

The TV was on. A news reporter was talking about the storm ravaging through the state, showing images of destruction everywhere. _We should count ourselves lucky it isn't so bad here_ , I thought as I watched. The news reporter advised everyone to stay at home and call the special phone number if help was needed.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way through the living room. Usually, I didn't have a problem with how spacious it was, but now I wished it was smaller. The more steps I had to take, the quicker Tasha might hear. I started hearing voices as I neared the kitchen. I couldn't make out yet what they were saying because the TV was pretty loud, but then I heard Tasha laugh. It was more of a cackle, really. I frowned; she sounded like some evil witch.

Slowly, I moved to the wall and flattened myself against it. Saying a quick prayer, I took a peek and saw that Tasha's back was turned on me. I breathed a sigh of relief before peeking again. Now I noticed that she wasn't standing; she was sitting on Dimitri's lap. The gun was on the kitchen island.

"There, I think that'll do," Tasha said and she put down her lighter next to the gun. "You have to sit very still now."

Dimitri's face paled and he looked like he wanted to get out of the situation badly. That's when his eyes met mine. I put my finger to my lips and he quickly looked away before Tasha noticed. Slowly, I took a step forwards, into the kitchen.

"Wait a minute," he said to Tasha.

"Stop being a pussy, Dimka," Tasha said in a teasing voice. "We can't leave if I don't take care of you first. Just think about the beach we're going to lie on tomorrow…"

"Can't you just drive me to the hospital before we leave?" he asked, glancing at me again.

There was a pause and then Tasha's shrill, angry voice, "Don't you trust me to do a good job? I know what I'm doing!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. If she got up from Dimitri's lap and turned around, this might get ugly. She was a lot closer to the gun than I was.

"I'm sure you do," Dimitri said hastily, trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry. I guess you're right. I'm afraid of the pain and that's why I'm stalling."

"It'll be over soon," Tasha said, her voice softer again. "We have to hurry now because the cops will be here in no time once they realize their unit isn't coming back."

Dimitri's eyes flicked to mine for a brief moment, then he looked at Tasha again. I started moving again, ever so slow.

"Maybe you can give me a little something to give me courage," Dimitri said suddenly, his voice smooth, and he gave her a dazzling smile. If he was trying to distract her so I could make a grab for the gun, he was doing a damn good job.

"Like what?" Tasha asked, her voice breathy.

Dimitri started to lean in and Tasha froze. There was a moment of silence and she said slowly, "I thought you didn't like me."

"I don't," he replied, "but like you said… Once we're out of here and by ourselves…it could change. I thought I might see if it could change right now."

He started to lean in again and, this time, Tasha didn't stop him. I watched them kiss, horrified. I kind of wanted to gag, but there was no time to feel disgusted. I leaped forward, snatching the gun away. Before Tasha had time to react, I had the barrel pressed against her temple.

"Get up," I hissed. Slowly, she got up from Dimitri's lap. "Now take a few steps back. Drop the needle and keep your hands where I can see them."

She did what she was told and I moved away from her, but kept the gun aimed at her. She looked furious, but she didn't speak.

"You okay?" I asked Dimitri without taking my eyes off of Tasha.

"Yes," he replied.

"You tricked me," Tasha suddenly spat, glaring at Dimitri. "You both tricked me!" She took a step in Dimitri's direction, her hands balled into fists, but I stopped her. "You won't shoot me," she scoffed, turning towards me.

"No, I won't," I said calmly. "Because I want your ass in jail. Right where you belong." I didn't know why I was so calm when I should actually be nervous as hell because I was going to do something that I might regret. But I didn't want anyone else to get hurt tonight, so I had to do it. "The cops will be here any moment now so you better don't try anything stupid. Like escaping."

I pressed the small button on the left side of the gun and the magazine dropped out. I let it fall into my free hand. There was only one bullet left in the magazine. I put it all down on the kitchen island, then turned back towards Dimitri and Tasha. They both gaped at me.

"How did you know-"

Dimitri was interrupted by Tasha's scream of outrage. She lunged at me and slammed me into the kitchen island. I felt pain shooting up my back, but I ignored it as I tried to pry her hands away from my neck. With a lot of effort, Dimitri pulled her away from me. She was kicking her legs in the air as she struggled to get free, screaming and cursing. When she pressed her elbow into his wound, he let go with a gasp and she started attacking me again, her nails scratching my neck.

"I told you to play nice until the cops arrive!" I grumbled as I grabbed her hair and pulled hard. With my free hand, I pushed the gun and the now empty magazine off the kitchen island so she couldn't reach for it and do something stupid again. Her hands were in my face now; I think she wanted to claw my eyes out.

"Goddammit!"

I turned my face away, trying to keep it out of her reach. Suddenly, I caught sight of the lighter that was still lying on the kitchen island. Still pulling at Tasha's hair, I stretched out my arm and my fingers grazed the lighter. I moved an inch closer, while I allowed Tasha to claw open my face, her nails scraping over my skin, and reached out again. This time my fingers curled around the lighter and I held it tight in my fist. Tasha was screaming in my face "to go to hell" as she kept on slapping and scratching me. I shut my eyes and, with an angry roar, I thrust the lighter forward and flicked it.

Tasha started screaming louder and louder, but this time she was shouting in pain. It didn't take long for her to let go of me. When she did, I blinked a couple of times and looked at her. She'd taken several steps back and was holding her cheek. She looked to be in a lot of pain as tears streamed down her face.

"You burned me!" she screeched.

"That's what happens when you don't play nice," I snapped. "Now stop this madness!" I was a little bit breathless from struggling with Tasha. Taking a few deep breaths, I stood a little straighter and held out the lighter dangerously. "You aren't going to get out of here so just stop fighting. Give up the keys so we can free Andre." When she didn't react, I warned, "Don't make me burn off your whole face."

Tasha glowered at me. She pulled her hand away from her cheek and I flinched when I saw how much I'd burned her. Her cheek was flaming red and it was already starting to blister. It must hurt badly, but I wasn't sorry. Not after everything she'd done. Reluctantly, she handed over the keys she'd been hiding in the back pocket of her jeans.

I glanced over at Dimitri, who was leaning heavily against the kitchen sink. He looked at Tasha with disgust.

"You burned me," Tasha whispered, silent tears running down her face. "Now I won't be pretty anymore." She looked over at Dimitri, her eyes wide and glassy. "Am I still pretty?"

"You never were," he muttered, turning his gaze away from her.

That did it.

Tasha sank down to her knees, wailing. She didn't get up again until the cops took her away.

* * *

 _So a lot happened in this chapter! Like, A LOT! What do you think of the characters' actions in this chapter? Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! The final chapter will be updated somewhere next week! :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you very much for the reviews, favorites and follows! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Academy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9**

 **DPOV**

When the cops arrived and arrested Tasha, I'd never felt so relieved before in my life. Two paramedics came to get me a few moments later. As we passed through the hallway, I saw that Ivan was being pulled away from Jesse's body.

Lissa was downstairs now as well. Rose had her arm wrapped around her shoulders and together they watched as another cop unlocked the basement and a very confused and disorientated Andre stumled out. I caught Rose's gaze before they led me out of the front door and she gave me a sad smile.

"I need to call my mother," I breathed, blinking. "I need to call her and tell her…"

"You need medical attention," the paramedic answered. "We'll inform your mother later."

The ambulance was parked a few feet away. It wasn't raining as hard anymore, but it seemed like the wind was still picking up speed. They made me lie down and hooked me up on an IV before giving me a quick examination. I felt very woozy and exhausted in a matter of moments.

"Don't worry, kid," one of the paramedics said. "You'll live. We'll take you to the hospital now."

I barely heard it; I was having trouble staying awake. How much had they given me? Not that I was complaining. The pain was gone now.

"Hey, wait up!" a new voice suddenly rang out.

I recognized it and I blinked a couple of times, forcing myself to keep my eyes open. I tried to lift my head, but it was so heavy… I couldn't move. Vaguely, I heard one of the paramedics talk, but then the beautiful voice interrupted, "Please let me talk to him! It'll take a second! _Please_. It's important."

"I'm giving you sixty seconds," the paramedic said curtly. "He needs to go to the hospital."

I opened my eyes again, but my vision was blurry. I blinked over and over again until I could finally see Rose climb into the ambulance.

"Hey comrade," she said softly, leaning over me with a smile. "How are you holding up?"

"Hey Roza," I drawled, giving her a slow smile. She was still a little blurry so I blinked again. Finally, she came into focus. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in on you before you leave," she answered. "I heard the paramedic say that you'll live so that's good news, right?" she added cheerfully.

"I told you…I was going to be…okay…"

Why was I talking so slow? Why couldn't I lift my arm and touch her? But as if she could read my mind, she reached out and placed her hand over mine. I felt a tingle pass through my body and I wondered if that was the medication's work or if it was because Rose was touching me.

I looked up into her face and frowned. "You've got…a lot of scratches…on your face… Does it hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing," she said in a reassuring voice.

I sighed. "You still look very beautiful, though." I tried to lift my arm again so I could touch her face, but failed. I sighed again. "So beautiful, it hurts me..."

"And you are very high," she laughed.

"Your minute is up!" someone shouted behind her.

"I've got to go now, comrade," she said softly, letting go of my hand.

"No," I moaned. "Don't go."

She brushed her hand over my hair. "I'll visit you in the hospital, okay? I've got to go now."

Suddenly, she leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. It happened so quick, I had no time to react. But when she pulled away and looked at me, I was grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you," she whispered before dashing out of the ambulance.

One of the paramedics sat down next to me in the ambulance while the other one closed the doors.

"Why'd you send her away?" I complained.

"Don't worry," he said. "You'll see your girlfriend soon enough."

 _I hope so._

And that's when I stopped fighting and let myself fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When I woke up again, I was in a hospital bed, surrounded by my family. Mama started crying when she saw that I was awake and called for a doctor immediately. When the doctor came, she explained that they'd had to operate me, but that I should count myself lucky because no vital organs were damaged when the knife had gone in. I'd lost a lot of blood, though, so they'd be giving me a couple more blood transfusions. That's when I noticed there were several tubes and drains coming out of my body. My right hand was bandaged tightly.

Two police officers came to question me the next day. Mama was allowed to stay because I was still a minor. I was afraid they were going to arrest me, but apparently Rose had told the police that I'd been trying to help them the whole time. Lissa had made the same statement.

Rose had tried to save Ivan as well, but they'd taken him into custody nonetheless. After they'd gone, Mama told me that Ivan had confessed to pushing Jesse over the bannister, which had led to Jesse falling to his death. I didn't know what that meant for Ivan. It had been an accident so I prayed they'd let him go soon.

Tasha, however, would be in jail for a very long time. She'd orchestrated the break-in, assaulted Andre, kept the girls as hostages and then murdered a police officer. And if she was declared insane in court – which I honestly believed she was – she'd go to a psychiatric institution for the rest of her life. Either way, she wasn't getting out.

Mama didn't speak much after the interrogation. She didn't look angry, but I knew she was upset. I couldn't say anything, though, because my sisters came to visit. When they left to get coffee and it was just me and Mama, I burst out, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mama." I couldn't take it anymore. She should be angry at me, but all she did was look at me with worry. "I'm sorry I disappointed you. I never meant for any of that to happen. All I wanted was to protect Ivan."

"Dimka, don't be absurd. I'm not disappointed," she returned as she sat down on the chair next to my hospital bed. She gave me a reassuring smile. "I know you didn't mean for those things to happen and I know you wouldn't have taken part in it if it wasn't for Ivan." She sighed deeply. "I just feel sad that you never told me about his cousin and, well, that girl."

"I would've _never_ hung out with them if I knew what they were capable of. They were assholes, but I thought they were harmless." I paused. "At least…most of the time. They tried to get Ivan to do stuff, but never anything really dangerous. Until..." I felt so ashamed I couldn't look her in the eye. "I didn't want to leave him with them so I followed them in, but it was already too late."

"Dimka, stop blaming yourself," Mama said softly. She reached out and squeezed my hand gently. "You tried to help those girls. You _did_ help them. It almost cost you your life." Tears gathered in her eyes. "I – I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm so relieved you're okay."

Even though Mama assured me I wasn't to blame, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I had nothing else to think about either the following days. I wasn't allowed to do much, except lie in my bed, watch some TV or read. Mama had brought me my novel, but this was the first time ever that I didn't feel like reading. The nurses kept saying I needed to rest, but all I wanted was to go home – or at least get some fresh air. Being cooped up in this hospital room all day was rather depressing.

But then, on the fifth day, I had an unexpected visitor. I was just watching some stupid reality TV show about people going on blind dates because there really wasn't anything on TV during the day when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, bored.

I sat up abruptly, ignoring the stab of pain in my stomach, when Rose walked into the room with a box of chocolates in her hands.

"Hey comrade," she said, smiling brightly.

I blinked a couple of times, stunned. Was I dreaming right now? When I failed to respond, she closed the door and took a seat in the chair. There were several scratches on her face and her cheek was still bruised. Somehow she managed to look very beautiful anyway.

"I don't know what you like so I bought a little bit of everything," she told me as she handed me the box of chocolates. The box looked rather expensive so it couldn't have come from the gift shop downstairs. "You do eat chocolate, right?" she added jokingly.

I nodded, then stammered, "T-thanks," and accepted the chocolates.

"What's the matter?" she teased. "Surprised to see me? I told you I was going to visit."

I frowned, confused. "You did?"

"Yes," she answered. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head.

"Huh. Interesting. I guess you were pretty out of it when I talked to you in the ambulance." She gave me a knowing smile. "Too bad."

What was she talking about? My frown deepened as I tried to recall a conversation where she told me she would be visiting. Vaguely, I remembered the paramedics pumping me full of pain medication and sedatives. And maybe Rose coming in for a quick chat… But why was she looking at me like that? Like she knew something I did not… I must've said something embarrassing.

Before I could ask, though, she cleared her throat and looked at the TV screen with an amused smile on her face. The blind dating program was still on. Mortified, I quickly grabbed the remote and switched off the TV.

"I was just flipping through channels because there's nothing interesting on TV during the day," I mumbled my explanation.

Thankfully, Rose changed the subject. "So…how are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I answered. "They're going to discharge me before the weekend, but I'll have to take it easy the next couple of weeks. How about you?"

"I'm all good. Just a few scratches on my face. Nothing major." She grinned at me. "It sure impressed my fellow classmates."

"How's Lissa doing? A-and Andre?" I asked hesitantly. "I saw the local news, but…"

"They're both fine," Rose reassured me. "Lissa is still a little bit shaken up by the whole thing, but otherwise she's fine. And Andre… He needed a few stitches and he has a bad concussion, but he was allowed to go home yesterday."

I nodded, relieved to know that there wasn't any permanent damage to his brain or something. I looked down and suddenly wished that I was wearing something else than my PJs. Luckily, most of the tubes were removed and I looked a little less pale today, but I wasn't really going to impress Rose like this. I shook my head, annoyed with myself for thinking things like that. I was lucky Rose even wanted to talk to me after everything that had happened.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. I looked back up at her. "Will you tell them I'm sorry?"

"They know you are, and they know it's not your fault," Rose said softly, "but I'll tell them."

I gave her a grateful smile.

"Have you heard anything of Ivan?"

"Last I heard, his parents bailed him out yesterday," I answered. "I tried to reach out, but he doesn't want to take my call. I'll visit him when I'm better." I frowned again. "I don't know what's going to happen to him, though."

"He'll go to trial, but I don't believe they'll lock him up," Rose said. She sounded very sure. "What happened was an accident. And he was only trying to defend himself and his friends." She paused. "He might have to do some counseling, though. _Maybe_ community service."

I looked at her, curious. "How do you know all that stuff?" Suddenly, something came to my mind. "And the gun – you knew exactly how to use it. That was brilliant."

Rose gave a small smile, almost shy. "Well, my mom was a cop. I've learned a couple of things from her…"

" _Was_ a cop?" I asked.

Her smile faded, making me dread her answer. "She's dead," she answered quietly. "Died on the job two years ago. It's just me and my dad now."

I cursed myself silently. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You couldn't have known."

"It's a good thing you knew what to do," I told her.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but maybe I should've waited a little longer before taking out the magazine. I should've known Tasha wasn't going to give up so easily." She shrugged again. "At least she couldn't shoot anyone again." A wry smile crossed her face, and she pointed at the scratches. "Though she didn't really need to use a gun to do harm."

In a rare moment of boldness, I blurted, "You're still beautiful. The scratches just make you look more badass."

Rose grinned and I flushed a bright red color. Maybe that had been a little bit too bold. I was about to make another apology when she exclaimed, "Aww, thanks, comrade! It's always nice to hear you giving me compliments." Her grin widened. "And it's also nice to know that you're not lying to make me feel better."

Now I was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You might've said something along the same lines when you were in the ambulance," she answered. "Except for the badass part."

Should I be worried now? What the hell did I say to her in the ambulance? Earlier she was teasing me as well about whatever happened or had been said in the ambulance. Hopefully, I hadn't embarrassed myself. I strained my memory, but only bits and pieces came to the surface. Nothing concrete.

"You really don't remember anything?" she said, studying my face.

She leaned forward in her chair and placed her hand on top of mine. It was warm and soft and as soon as her hand touched mine I felt a familiar tingle run through my body. Something flashed in my mind, then, and suddenly I remembered. My eyes widened in realization as I looked up at her.

"Are you sure?" she said in a teasing voice, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Did you…kiss me?" I asked, dumbfounded. A smile spread across her face, but she said nothing. My heart started beating faster as I stared at her. "You…you kissed me," I said then, certain now.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door and a tall man with a goatee and a blue fedora popped his head inside. It was a strange sight.

"Hello," he said, looking at the both of us. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've gotta go now, Rose."

I looked from the man to Rose and saw they had the same tan skin and dark hair. This must be her father.

Rose had taken her hand away from mine and leaned back in the chair. "Dad, this is Dimitri."

Even though he looked in a hurry, he walked into the room and came to a stop next to the bed. He held out his hand. "I'm Abe Mazur," he said at last as I shook his hand. I noticed his fedora matched his scarf. "Rose's father. I hear you took quite the risk to protect my daughter. Thank you."

I glanced over at Rose, unsure, but she was beaming at me. "Rose didn't need my protection, sir. She can handle herself pretty well."

"That's my girl," he said, proud. He started for the door again and looked over at Rose before departing. "You coming?"

Rose got up and slowly made her way to the door. She turned around to look at me and said, smiling halfheartedly, "I guess I'll see you around?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew that if I let her walk out of the door without asking I'd probably never get the chance again because what would be the odds of running into her? Before our ordeal a few days ago, I'd never even seen her in town. If she walked out of the room without giving me her phone number, I wouldn't get another chance to kiss her – a kiss that I would actually, vividly remember.

 _Don't be a coward now._

"Roza," I blurted out when she was already half out the door.

She stopped and turned slowly, eyeing me curiously. I opened my mouth and closed it again, not sure how to begin.

"Yes?" she prompted.

"I might not remember exactly what happened in the ambulance, but I remember another conversation we had," I said finally, feeling so nervous my palms were sweating. "In the bathroom. You remember that?" She nodded. "Okay, well, maybe we can hang out sometime then?"

Rose grinned. "Are you going to show me how much fun you can be?"

I was relieved she wasn't repulsed by the idea of us hanging out. But then again, she'd kissed me so maybe I shouldn't have been so worried about making a fool out of myself.

"Yes," I said, a little bit more confident now. "Yeah, and maybe, instead of just hanging out, I could take you out on a date?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Rose's smile made me feel warm all over. I returned her smile when she walked back to my bed. Grabbing the pencil and a piece of paper from my nightstand, she scribbled down her phone number. Then she skipped back to the door. Looking over her shoulder, she called, "Feel better, comrade. I already look forward to our date."

She winked, and then she was gone. I sighed, feeling content for the first time since I was admitted to the hospital. I finally felt like things were starting to look up for me. And I had no trouble admitting that Roza had everything to do with it.

I caught sight of my book then, and with a big, goofy grin on my face, I grabbed it from the nightstand and opened it. Feeling relieved after Rose's visit, I could now finally finish reading my novel.

* * *

 _The end! All's well that ends well...at least for our favorite duo! So how did you like the last chapter? I know some of you were expecting to see Christian, or at least hear from him, but I wanted to focus the story on that one night when everything went to hell. The hospital scene with Rose and Dimitri was a little something for the Romitri fans out there! :D_

 _Anyway, I hope you liked it and I want to thank you guys for all your support. I'm currently writing another story "Two is better than one", in case you want to check that out! But I can't say it enough: thank you, thank you, thank you. Like always, it was a pleasure!_

 _Lots of love  
RozaBelikova-x_


End file.
